The mother of the two Walayar girls who were discovered dead under mysterious circumstances, who is contesting as an Independent candidate against Chief Minister Pinaryi Vijayan at Dharmadam, received a frock as the symbol for the upcoming Assembly polls. Frocks hanging from trees were associated with the campaign for the Walayar tribal sisters. The two girls, aged 13 and nine, were found dead inside their one-room home 52 days apart in Walayar. The eldest of the siblings was found hanging inside their home at Walayar on January 13, 2017 and the younger sister on March 4 was found in the same manner. As the image of ‘frocks hanging from the branch of a tree' was commonly used to demand justice for the two girls; the children's mother had requested that the symbol be given to her as an election symbol.
The mother of the Walayar girls filed her nomination as an Independent candidate against chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Dharmadom constituency on March 18. While addressing the media, she said that the trust she placed on the Chief Minister’s promise of justice was misplaced. “We were taken for a ride right from the beginning,” she said.
Contesting in the upcoming elections would give her the opportunity to raise her voice against the CM who had not kept his promise to stand by her family. The mother of the two minor girls had tonsured her head on February 27 protesting the alleged inaction against the accused officers who had “botched” the initial investigation.
However, after filing her candidacy, she said that her life is in danger and that she fears a death similar to that of founder of Revolutionary Marxist Party TP Chandrasekharan, who was allegedly hacked to death by the Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPI –M). She said that if anything were to happen to her, the blame was to fall on AK Balan and his CPI-M party.
Meanwhile several organisations such as SUCI and various Dalit and Adivasi organisations have expressed solidarity with the mother of the Walayar girls.
