Dalit Bandhu is a revolutionary scheme: KTR
Hyderabad: Industries and IT Minister KT Rama Rao termed Dalit Bandhu as a revolutionary scheme to provide a level-playing field for Dalits to compensate for their sufferings and empower them for their socio-economic development. He likened the scheme to the Affirmative Action in the US which is a set of laws, policies, guidelines and administrative […]
Hyderabad: Industries and IT Minister KT Rama Rao termed Dalit Bandhu as a revolutionary scheme to provide a level-playing field for Dalits to compensate for their sufferings and empower them for their socio-economic development. He likened the scheme to the Affirmative Action in the US which is a set of laws, policies, guidelines and administrative practices intended to end and correct the effects of a specific form of discrimination.
“Many ask if reservations are still needed, pointing out that America has no reservations. But many are unaware that even in the US, there is this concept called Affirmative Action. The Dalit Bandhu is our Affirmative Action,” Rama Rao said, participating on the eve of 131st birth anniversary celebrations of Dr BR Ambedakar held here on Wednesday. Under the Dalit Bandhu scheme, the State government is giving a 100 per cent grant of Rs 10 lakh per family.
Addressing the gathering, the Minister recalled that a few years ago, both India and China had the same GDP. But China was now five times bigger than India in GDP. China is competing with the US, while India is still competing with countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, he said. “But currently in India, fellow humans are being treated as enemies based on caste, religion and others,” he said, adding that instead of focusing on development, liberty, equality and fraternity, the focus was on what one is saying, eating or wearing.
“Unfortunately, the government is propagating these things. People have the capability to think what is good for them. The governments should create opportunities for all and not just for the big,” he stated. He emphasised the need to pay heed to Ambedkar’s dream of a society with equality and equanimity.
Rama Rao slammed the Centre for hijacking the achievements of the State government through misleading advertisements. In the 75 years of Independent India’s history, he said Telangana State was the first and only State to supply drinking water to all households under Mission Bhagiratha. “The Centre has not given a single paisa for the project, but released huge advertisements with pictures of the Prime Minister giving credit to its ‘Har Ghar Jal’ scheme for the achievement,” he pointed out.
He also emphasised the need for promoting positivity in society and pointed out that the media especially social media was being misused to spread hatred. “If somebody is using a public platform to scold Muslims, that video is shown again and again. There is Shoba Yatra on Sri Rama Navami. There is ruckus in that. Several Whatsapp videos are being sent. They scold each other and promote enmity. There is no use of such videos,” he said adding that despite the tall talk, India still was a poor third world country.
The Minister recalled how Ambedkar brought laws to protect the minority against the tyranny of majority and how his vision helped in the creation of Telangana from the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. He stated that Telangana State would not have been realised in a lifetime without the provisions embedded by Ambedkar in the Constitution to protect the minority.
Explaining the need for the Dalit Bandhu scheme for socio-economic empowerment of the SCs, Rama Rao said even as the country celebrates its 75th year of Independence, no Prime Minister or Chief Minister took any step for empowerment of the weaker sections. Instead, questions are being raised whether the Dalits were the only ones who need empowerment.
“Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s approach is to address the bottom of the pyramid. Various economic studies assert that the Dalits are the most downtrodden in the country. We decided to start the empowerment journey here. We have so far given Dalit Bandhu to about 40,000 people in the first year itself. We have set a target of two lakh Dalits this year. The Dalit community should also think on ways to create wealth,” the Minister said.
Rama Rao said people should not get into the mob mentality and urged the Dalit Bandhu beneficiaries to chose different self-employment options for their socio-economic growth. “If somebody is buying a tractor, a harvestor or a taxi, others too are buying the same. How will this work if all get into similar work? The demand-supply equation will get affected. If supply is more than the demand, that will cause problems for all of us,” he explained.
He asked industry body DICCI to guide the beneficiaries. “If one family gets Rs 10 lakh, it is not necessary that only that family should set up a unit. Several families can come together and create a bigger unit anywhere in the State. The focus should be on wealth creation. If we do not do this, this will be a historical mistake. People will ask what the impact of the scheme was and whether we succeeded in creating wealth for the State as well as empower the beneficiaries. One should not be blamed for inefficiency,” he said.
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