Chennai - The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), a key Dalit political force in Tamil Nadu, has announced plans to hold a padayatra (foot march) on December 6. The march will begin at Gandhi Mandapam in Kanyakumari and end at the Ambedkar statue in Nagercoil, advocating for the creation of a Scheduled Caste (SC) reserved Assembly constituency in Kanyakumari district.

Gobi Perivalan, the VCK Kanyakumari East District Secretary, reiterated the party’s long-standing demand for this change, citing the district's significant Dalit population. He stressed that greater representation in the Assembly is essential to address the challenges faced by Dalit communities.

The Tamil Nadu Dalit Rights Movement is also organizing a separate march from Kanyakumari to Chennai on November 26 to champion the same cause. Movement leader Vin Dhinakaran pointed out that the region once had two SC-reserved constituencies during the era of the Travancore state. However, these constituencies disappeared following the 1956 linguistic reorganization that merged Kanyakumari with Tamil Nadu. Dhinakaran suggested creating a new SC-reserved constituency by incorporating the Thovalai and Agastheeswaram taluks.

The demand has garnered support from various quarters. Arokkiya Samy, head of the Kanyakumari-based think tank Research and Study Centre, emphasized the necessity of the move and expressed confidence that the VCK would push the DMK-led government to act. CPI District Secretary T. Subhas Chandra Bose echoed this sentiment, highlighting the lack of representation for marginalized communities in the district and urging major political parties to field candidates from these groups.

Both VCK and CPI are part of the INDIA Bloc in Tamil Nadu, under the leadership of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.

The VCK, Tamil Nadu's leading Dalit political party, currently has two MPs in the Lok Sabha and four MLAs in the state Assembly. Recently, the party stirred debate when leader Aadhav Arjuna called for a ministerial position in Stalin’s Cabinet, challenging the tradition of excluding coalition partners. The matter was reportedly resolved following discussions between VCK founder Thol Thirumavalavan and the Chief Minister.

(Source- IANS)