UNI

KOTTAYAM: Several dalit organisations on Saturday came out openly in support of the Congress-led Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) in the May 10elections in Kerala.

Leaders of Social Democratic Party (SDP), the political arm of 33 dalit organisations, told newspersons here that they were extending their support to the UDF since the latter had shown the political will to include their cause in its manifesto.

They contended that the communist movement which was strengthened through the dalits, was now adopting a negative approach towards them. So it was necessary to defeat the LDF candidates at the polls.

Meanwhile, National Union of backward classes general secretary S Suvarnakumar and other leaders said that the Union had resolved to defeat the marxist-led LDF which had "created history by harming the backward-class people."

At a news conference here, he released a list of 15 instances of of the LDF's alleged laxity towards the backward communities. They included failure to erect Dr Ambedkar's statue before the assembly, negative approach towards the adivasi land issue, marring the sanctity of the Sivagiri Mutt by politicising it and failure to book the culprits who had destroyed about 35 gurumandirs in the state.