KMDK former candidate’s casteist remarks: action taken report sought from Erode Collector, SP

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With a video featuring KMDK’s former Namakkal Parliamentary constituency candidate S. Suriamoorthi’s hate speech triggering a political controversy, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes has asked the Erode Collector and the Superintendent of Police to submit an ‘action taken’ report to the commission within 15 days.

The KMDK is contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the DMK, under the INDIA bloc. After KDMK party general secretary E.R. Eswaran announced Mr. Suriamoorthi as a candidate on March 18, a video resurfaced on social media in which he was seen saying Scheduled Castes youth should not think about getting rich by marrying women from the Kongu Vellalar Gounder community and if they did so, they would face consequences. The video, said to be over 10 years old, triggered a controversy as many Dalit outfits condemned his remarks and demanded action against him.

On Thursday, R. Anbuvendan, general secretary, Republican Party of India, took up the issue with the National Commission. In a communication to the Collector and Superintendent of Police, Commission director S. Ravivarman, said the Commission had received a complaint and had decided to investigate the matter and asked them to submit an ‘action taken’ report within 15 days. The communication said if the Commission does not receive a reply, it could issue summons to the Collector and SP for an appearance.