TN Governor criticises government; DMK hits back

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi has stoked yet another political controversy by alleging “corruption” in allotting houses to poor and criticising the Left parties for building a “high-cost concrete structure” in the midst of “thatched shacks of poor” to commemorate the brutal killing of 44 poor Dalit labourers in Keezhvenmani 1968.

During a visit to Nagapattinam district, Ravi on Monday said it is not only ironic but a mocking insult to the martyrs and the poor that such a structure has been built by a party that claims to champion the proletariat.

Taking strong exception to Ravi’s statement, Law Minister S Regupathy said it looked like the Governor is suffering from “media mania” and that the Governors of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Telangana are in an “indirect competition” to hog headlines in newspapers and television channels.

Keezhvenmani is a village in Nagapattinam district where about 44 people, including women, were locked in a hut and burnt alive on the night of December 25, 1968 by landlords who didn’t like their demand for a hike in wages. The mass killings of Dalit is a “dark chapter” in the history of Tamil Nadu which basks in the social justice glory.

On Sunday, the Governor visited the village and the only survivor of the 1968 massacre, G Palanivel, and interacted with him. After visiting two areas inhabited by fishermen and Scheduled Castes, the Governor said he was shocked to see the abject poverty all along the villages.

“One wonders how long these unfortunate brothers and sisters have to wait for social and economic justice,” he added. On Monday, the Governor said it was tragic that the deserving poor villagers of Nagapattinam district are not able to get the benefit of PM Awas Yojana due to administrative apathy and alleged corruption.

“A humongous high cost concrete structure in Keezhvenmani village as a memorial, to commemorate the massacred 44 poor labourers, in the midst of thatched shacks of the poor all around by a political party that claims to champion the proletariat is not only ironical but a mocking insult to the martyrs and the poor,” he added.

In a statement, Regupathy said Governors have forgotten that they hold a Constitutional post and behave like “BJP spokespersons.”

“The Governor has used unnecessary words like corruption. If the governor has any doubts on schemes, he can ask for an explanation (from the government). Is it good on the part of the governor to criticise the government like Opposition parties just for media publicity?” he asked.