Chennai: AIADMK's deposed leader and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam (OPS) on Monday said untouchability incident in Tamil Nadu's Tenakasi district has brought to fore the failure of the DMK government.
In a statement on Monday, OPS said that even though untouchability has been eradicated legally, there have been stray incidents in some areas of the state due to the indifference of the DMK government.
The state government has failed to generate awareness among school children about the importance of remaining united, he claimed.
OPS said that it was the duty of the government to arrange meetings of elders in these areas to stress the importance of unity.
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The former chief coordinator of AIADMK called upon Chief Minister MK Stalin to pay special attention to this matter and provide necessary directions to the state school education department on the importance of unity among children.
Earlier, a shopkeeper in Panjankulam village in Tenkasi had refused to give snacks and candies to the children from Scheduled Castes based on local diktats leading to a major uproar. After the video of the incident went viral on social media, the officials immediately sealed the shop on the order of the district collector.
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Based on a complaint, the police arrested shopkeeper Maheswaran and the president of the panchayat Ramachandran. The police then remanded in judicial custody under the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The South Zone Inspector General of Police is moving the Tenkasi special court to get an order preventing the duo from entering the village for a period of three years after they are released from jail.