Tiruvannamalai: Due to the attitude against Minister AV Velu in the Tiruvannamalai district, the Vanniyar vote bank has shaken the foundation of DMK.
When the DMK government headed by Chief Minister M.K.Stalin was established in Tamil Nadu, preparations were made to start Chipkat in the village of Paliapattu next to Thiruvannamalai. 1,200 acres of agricultural land and 500 houses were planned to be acquired. As the livelihood of the farmers will be affected, the protests of the villagers and farmers intensified against the Sipkot project.
Among them, the majority belong to farmers and the Vanniyar community. Although political parties came in support of them, BAMAK alone intensified the struggle. Public Works Department Minister A.V. Velu said that 'whoever prevents' will be settled in the village. Farmers condemned this. Due to the determined struggle of the farmers, the Paliyapattu Sipkot project was silenced at its inception stage.
The 'Agni Kalasam' of the Vanniyar Sangam, which was founded in 1989 in Naidu Mangalam near Tiruvannamalai, was taken down in January 2022 in this instance. Bamaka and Vanniyar Sangam joined the demonstration, claiming that Minister AV Velu was the source of it. The district administration allegedly promised to take steps to restore the Agni Kalasam during discussions at the time.
However, they installed Agni Kalasam at Bamaka and Vanniyar Sangam on the 13th in contravention of the ban because, even after two years, nothing was done. During that period, the top administrators made a public accusation, saying that "the district administration removed the Agni Kalasam, a sacred symbol of the Vanniyars, on orders of Minister AV Velu." It was earlier claimed that Minister AV Velu was responsible for the police department stepping up their campaign against the Vanniyars following a fight between two factions in Veeralur village, which is close to Kalasapakkam.
In the meantime, the DMK government is eager to purchase hundreds of homes and 3,200 acres of farmland for the Melma Chipgat expansion project, which is located close to Seyyar. For this reason, the farmers have been protesting nonstop for 250 days. Seven of these farmers, who battled to save the land, were detained under the Gangster Act. The farmers were arrested by the Tamil Nadu government under the thug law, which drew criticism. The coalition parties voiced their disapproval as well.