Rajeshwari, panchayat president of reserved Kalpiravu constituency in Sivaganga district, has submitted her resignation letter to the Manamadurai Block Development Officer alleging caste discrimination by panchayat vice president Nagarajan on Monday. Rajeshwari has also said that she took the decision because the public started to question her for not doing her duty without knowing the actual picture.
Speaking to TNM, panchayat president Rajeshwari Pandi who was elected last year, alleged, “For the past 11 months, I have been facing a lot of torture since I come from a Scheduled Caste background. The panchayat vice president S Nagarajan and his brother Ponnuswamy have shown caste discrimination against me and have not allowed me to do my work as a panchayat president.”
“The public has started to question me because of this. They are saying we elected you unopposed so that you’ll work for us but you have not done anything in the past. So I have helplessly been telling them that I have not received funds from the government," she added.
Rajeshwari alleged that the last blow which led her to take the decision were the threats made by the vice president and his brother. She alleged, “Recently, Nagarajan’s brother Ponnuswamy came home and threatened me to not pursue my ambitions. He told me that he will do something to me if I continue to do my work.”
“So I countered him by saying that I will go to the police station and register a complaint under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act) 1989. But he told me that he has influence with all the police officials. So that’s why I decided to submit my resignation to the BDO,” she alleged.
In the petition to the BDO, Rajeshwari said that she will continue in her office only if she is not discriminated against by other office bearers and is allowed to do all her work. Rajeshwari said, “I have clearly mentioned that only if they let me do my service for the public I will continue in my role as a president, and if not, I’ll resign.”