DMK’s dalit woman panchayat chief alleges discrimination

Coimbatore: Days after discrimination against a dalit panchayat president in Tiruvannamalai district came to light, another dalit panchayat chief said that she is being prevented from functioning independently.
K Saridha, 34, president of J Krishnapuram panchayat here, said on Sunday that a non-dalit man from her village was harassing her. “Usilamani alias Balasubramanian wants me to stand up when he enters the panchayat office.He has been abusing me using my caste name,” she said. “He also said that I should not place my name board in the office. Balasubramanian is a close associate of former president of the village Govindaraj, an AIADMK man.”
Police have booked Balasubramanian under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
DMK president MK Stalin took up the issue and demanded protection for Saridha and action against those who threatened her. “Is there no protection even for panchayat presidents in this regime?” he tweeted.
J Krishnapuram village panchayat president post was reserved for scheduled caste women last year. AIADMK had held the post till then. While the dalit woman candidate AIADMK fielded could not win, Saridha, whose family members owe allegiance to DMK, secured more votes. Most of the ward member posts were also won by DMK men.
“When I was at the panchayat office on August 19, Balasubramanian came there and started hurling abuses at me. He asked me to stand up when he entered the office and threatened me with dire consequences if I function independently,” said Saridha.
Govindaraj is instigating Balasubramanian, she said. “Usually, the panchayat president’s name is written on the panchayat sign boards. But he has warned me against writing my name.”
Pollachi sub-division DSP K G Sivakumar visited the panchayat office on Sunday evening and conducted inquiry. A police team has been deployed at the village to prevent any untoward incident.