Ahead of the Telangana Assembly elections, a new party – Vimuktha Chiruthala Kakshi (VCK) – is making an entry into the state in April. The party has already extended its support to the BRS in the Assembly elections, as part of its strategy to counter the Hindutva ideology of the BJP-RSS. Vimuktha Chiruthala Kakshi is the Telugu name for Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, or the Liberation Panthers Party based in Tamil Nadu. According to Telangana state president Jilukara Srinivas, VCK has already constituted a 27-member core committee with several Dalits and Muslims holding key posts.
VCK is one of the single largest Dalit-led parties in Tamil Nadu. Formed in 1982, it was earlier known as Dalit Panther Iyakkam – a movement that confronted caste atrocities against Dalits. An ally of the DMK government in Tamil Nadu, the party has four MLAs and two MPs, including Thirumavalan. The party is spearheading the movement against Hindutva.
In an interview with TNM, VCK Telangana president Jilukara Srinivas, says that the rise of the BJP and RSS in the state has forced them to launch the party.
“During the Telangana statehood movement, several Ambedkarites had anticipated the strengthening of BJP and RSS if a separate state was formed. We had seen this in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, but many had dismissed these concerns citing that Telangana had a long history of movements like Naxalbari and other democratic movements. These values were deeply rooted in the minds of the Telangana people, and it was believed that religious fanatical forces like the BJP-RSS would not find ground here. But after state bifurcation in 2014, Amit Shah took a special interest in strengthening the BJP in Telangana and coming to power in the state. Now, the BJP-RSS is not merely a political issue but a social issue,” he says.
According to Srinivas, “Sanatana fascism” has been gaining social acceptance in Telangana. “It is not merely about elections. They are changing the social character of the state. Those who had earlier identified themselves as working-class people, communists, Dalits, and Backward Castes are now identifying themselves as Hindus. This is a social problem. The organisations affiliated with RSS have penetrated villages in the name of celebrating culture and spreading social harmony. They are trying to Brahminise people and bring people into the Sanatana fold. If Sanatana Dharma becomes a doctrine, Dalits and Scheduled Tribes will be the biggest victims of it. So we are trying to resist it. Through VCK, we want to enlighten Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and organise them politically.” Srinivas feels there is a strong need to confront the BJP-RSS combine to protect the Constitution.
In 2017, Jilukara Srinivas, who identifies himself as an Ambedkarite, founded Dravida Bahujana Samithi, an organisation working for the welfare of Dalits and Bahujans. Thirumavalan was the chief advisor for this organisation. The duo has remained in touch since then. Srinivas made his foray into electoral politics in 2018 by contesting from the Palakurthi Assembly constituency.
On February 24, the newly-inducted committee members met with Thirumavalan in Hyderabad regarding the party’s expansion in the state and its strategies to reach out to the masses.
“At this point, no single party can defeat the BJP. If we have to defeat it, all parties should join forces. Our national president Thirumavalan has given a call to isolate Sanatan forces and unite democratic forces. This is our slogan. The VCK will try to unite democratic parties and fight the BJP in Telangana. Our strategy is that we cannot work in isolation. We have to form political alliances and fight religious fanaticism,” he discloses. The VCK has already extended its support to K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Bharata Rashtra Samithi (BRS). The VCK state president said that they will support the BRS in the Assembly elections and the Congress during the Parliamentary elections.
The entry of VCK in Telangana, while the Bahujan Samaj Party – led by Dalit president RS Praveen Kumar – has been launched in the state to fight for the political rights of Dalits and Bahujans, has raised eyebrows. Commenting about this, Srinivas says, “BSP’s national president Mayawati has made it clear that their party will fight in isolation. Our opinion is that this strategy will only benefit the Sanatan forces. We want to create a movement by joining all parties opposed to that ideology. A huge national party like the Congress itself is unable to stop the BJP. In Tamil Nadu, VCK is in alliance with secular democratic parties like the DMK, Congress and the Left, and they have been resisting the BJP. This kind of political strategy is required across the board. So, the VCK is more appropriate than any other Bahujan party,” he asserts.
One of the programmes, the VCK has planned in Telangana is conducting a discussion on Manusmriti – considered an authoritative book on the Hindu code. “Many people either oppose Manusmriti or celebrate it without understanding it entirely. So we want to hold discussions on this,” he says. In 2022, the VCK published and distributed one lakh copies of a booklet with select verses from Manusmriti, to enlighten people about the roots of discrimination against lower castes and women.