Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi founder Thol. Thirumavalavan on Friday announced that CPI (ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya will receive the annual ‘Ambedkar Sudar’ Award, instituted by the party, in Chennai on May 28.
CPI general secretary D. Raja; Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M. Appavu; Rajendra Pal Gautam, former Minister in the AAP government in New Delhi; CPI(M) State secretary K. Balakrishnan; G. Mohan Gopal, former Vice-Chancellor of the National Law University, Bengaluru; and Tamil scholar Thayammal Aravanan will receive the ‘Periyar Oli’, ‘Kamarajar Kathir’, ‘Ayothidasar Aadhavan’, ‘Marx Mamani’, ‘Quaid-E-Millath Pirai’ and ‘Semmozhi Gnayiru’ Awards respectively.
Mr. Thirumavalavan said the exit polls in Karnataka were encouraging. He alleged that the BJP and the RSS were using “hate politics” for electoral gains nationwide. “In Manipur, a dangerous situation has been created, one in which the State is burning and the poor tribes are being hunted by the police and the dominant communities. Many have been killed. The neighbourhoods of the Naga tribes and their properties are being destroyed. The BJP’s hate politics is responsible for this situation — the government’s decision to include non-tribal communities in the tribal list,” he said.
The VCK would stage a protest against this violence on May 15, he said.
Asked about the resignation of L. Jawahar Nesan from the high- level committee constituted by the Tamil Nadu government to formulate the State Education Policy, Mr. Thirumavalavan said, “If the State Education Policy resembles the National Education Policy, it will defeat the very aim of the Tamil Nadu government and will not fulfil the expectations of the Tamil people. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin should look into Mr. Jawahar Nesan’s allegation of official interference...”
He refused to comment on the Tamil Nadu Cabinet reshuffle and removal of Palanivel Thiaga Rajan as the Finance Minister.
