Karthikeya Sivasenapathy, a well-known face in the Kongu region and founder-cum-managing trustee of Senaapathy Kangayam Cattle Research Foundation, on Thursday joined the DMK in the presence of party president M.K. Stalin.
“My objective is to spread the contribution of the erstwhile DMK government to the development of the Kongu region. Reservation and other policies played a pivotal role in the development of the region,” said Mr. Senaapathy, who was invited by Mr. Stalin to Chennai.
He said the Congress government in Tamil Nadu in the 1950s included the Mukkulathor and Vanniyar communities in the Backward Class list, based on the report of the Kalelkar Commission, but left out the Kongu Vellalar community. “Only in 1974 when Kalaignar[M. Karunanidhi] was the Chief Minister he included Kongu Vellalar and many other communities in the region in the BC list,” recalled Mr. Senaapathy, who had unsuccessfully sought DMK nomination in the 2016 Assembly election.
Subsequently the three per cent exclusive reservation introduced by the DMK government immensely benefited the Arundathiyars, one of the important communities in the Kongu region, he said. “There is a need to highlight the benefit of reservation in our region as most of them prefer to be entrepreneurs rather than joining government services,” Mr. Senaapathy said, reiterating that producing powerful officials from the community and the region was very important.
But for the free power supply introduced by the DMK government and waiver of ₹7,000 crore in farm loans, many in the region would have sold their land and moved to other professions. “Today we have emerged as the coconut capital of the country. After reading the book ‘Coconut Oil Miracle’, Kalaignar directed the government to use it at noon meal centres and sell it through ration shops. Unfortunately, it was stopped,” he said.
Asked whether his consistent campaign against the BJP and the Sangh Parivar on the social media would not backfire as the region was known for its staunch belief in religion, Mr. Senaapathy said devotion should not be confused with politics. “Politics of religion has denied development to north Indian states. On the other hand, social justice and inclusive politics in our State have paved the way for development and empowerment of communities. It was achieved by the Dravidian movement,” he said.
