Tamil Nadu Forest Minister Dindigul Sreenivasan has been under pressure after he reportedly asked a Tribal boy to remove his footwear when he visited the shrine in Nilgiris district on Thursday as his nauseating action has strongly been condemned by the opposition parties and activists. 

Amid the accusations, the 14-year-old Tribal boy who belongs to Irula Tribal community has now approached the local police department in Nilgiris and sought the action against the minister under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for making him remove his footwear in the presence of senior officials. The reports say the boy has moved his complaint to the Masinagudi Police Inspector and stated that he was deeply upset and humiliated by the actions of the Minister that had hit the headlines across the state.

He further stated that he removed his footwear of the Minister out of fear as he has been surrounded by the policemen, senior officials including Nilgiris district collector Innocent Divya, the general public, and media. They had watched him while he removed the footwear. By citing that the minister knew that the people who were presented there belong to the Tribal community, he added that he felt upset and scared for doing such a thing and he has under great humiliation as the action was telecasted in the media.

Through his complaint, he demanded action against the minister under the act and sought the police protection for him. However, the reports have stated that the police department is yet to file an FIR on his complaint. On Thursday, Dindigul Sreenivasan visited Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Nilgiris during which he went to the temple. 

After spotting the tribal boys there, he called them and asked them to remove the buckle of his footwear as he had to remove the footwear before stepping into the shrine. The incident was video graphed and it went viral across the media and in the video, the Minister can be heard asking the boy to "Remove this..buckle, buckle".

The minister's action had instigated heated condemnations across the state as many claimed that he has been upholding caste supremacy and disrespecting the Tribal community. DMK President Stalin stated that the Minister had violated his oath of office. On the other hand, while addressing the television channels, Dindigul Sreenivasan said there is nothing wrong with his actions. He stated that he called the boy thinking of him as his grandson. He cited that everyone around him was elderly to remove his footwear and claimed that he has no other motive. The sources revealed that on Friday, Minister had called the boy and his family to the government guest house in Nilgiris and met them.

Also read: Are Tribals meant for removing footwear? TN Minister comes under fire!