Kozhikode(Kerala) | The CPI(M)'s youth wing DYFI on Tuesday carried out a march to the Changaroth panchayat office here in protest against the alleged "purification ritual" carried out by IUML activists at the local body a day ago as its former president hailed from the Dalit community, police said.
Police said that the protest was peaceful and there was no tense atmosphere prevailing in the area.
It also said that the LDF will be holding a protest march to the panchayat office in the evening.
Police further said that no complaint in connection with the alleged "purification ritual" has been received by it till now.
It said that on Monday, a group of UDF activists, as part of their victory celebrations, sprinkled some green-coloured water outside the panchayat office and swept the ground there.
Visuals of the incident aired on TV channels showed a few persons, carrying Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) flags, sprinkling some kind of water on the ground in front of the local body office and sweeping the place with a broom.
The former panchayat president, Unni Vengeri, claimed that IUML activists were behind the incident.
IUML is a key constituent of the Congress-led UDF opposition in Kerala.
Vengeri said he did not see any Congress activists taking part in the incident, but some of them were watching it from the nearby road.
He contended that in three of the four panchayats the UDF won from the LDF, no such celebrations were held.
"The only difference in Changaroth panchayat is that a member of the Dalit community was the president here, so if anyone assumes it to be a casteist insult, can they be faulted?" he asked while speaking to a TV channel.
It is emotionally hurtful, he added.
He recalled that during the previous five years of LDF rule in the local body, the panchayat functioned by including all communities.
"There will be non-cooperation from the opposition's side, but unlike the Congress, the IUML acted with a particular agenda," Vengeri claimed.
