Thirumavalavan slams EC decision on Ponparappi

Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi founder Thol. Thirumavalavan on Wednesday said the refusal of Election Commission to conduct repoll in Ponparappi where Dalit homes were attacked was akin to “murder of democracy”.

He alleged that men from dominant castes attacked Dalits at Ponparappi preventing them from voting in the Chidambaram Lok Sabha constituency. “As a contestant in Chidambaram, I argued with the official in charge of conducting elections since the people expressed their wish to vote. When a voter named Vishnuraj filed a writ petition in Madras High Court on May 7, the judges said that an order would be passed on May 21. However, EC categorically said that it cannot hold a repoll,” he said.

Mr. Thirumavalavan said that while he expected this decision, he was shocked by EC’s one sided decisions.

“The EC has been propagating that it wants to ensure 100% voter turnout. It has spent so many crores of rupees for this. But refusing the request of 250 voters of Ponparappi who were not allowed to vote is a murder of democracy,” said Mr. Thirumavalavan. He added that the EC decision appeared to be favouring the ruling party and this would lead to all kinds of electoral frauds.

Condemns police firing

Thirumavalavan said that it was unfortunate that the families of 13 anti-Sterlite protesters who were killed in the police firing were not allowed to hold a memorial by the police.

“The State government should take steps to ensure that the victims gets justice and ensure that the people living in that area have proper livelihood,” he said.

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