A senior Left leader and former Kerala minister has alleged that he was subjected to acute casteism in the state, and claimed it led to his electoral defeat years ago.
C Divakaran, a CPI leader and Civil Supplies Minister in the then V S Achuthanandan Ministry, charged that the Secretariat, the administrative hub in the capital city, was the first nerve centre of upper-class dominance in Kerala.
He made the revelation while speaking at a book release event at the Press Club here recently.
“I have fought four elections and won three of them. The reason for my debacle in the fourth election was acute casteism,” he said.
The ex-minister said he had heard the voters talking about his caste during the election campaign. They were seen asking each other whether he belonged to their caste, he added.
Divakaran said he was sure that he would not taste success in that election.
The Left leader further raised allegations against the Secretariat and said that it was the first nerve centre of upper-class supremacy in the state.
“Nothing can be done. If anything is done against the whims of certain people there, they will blackmail us secretly and end our public life,” he further alleged.
There were certain people in society who still believed that they were destined to serve upper-class people, the former minister said, without referring to anyone.
Comments
0 comment