Hyderabad: Political parties which participated in the all-party meeting on Dalit empowerment pledged their complete support to the initiative taken up by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. They also appreciated his swift action against the police personnel responsible for the custodial death of Dalit woman Mariyamma from Khammam district and stated that the Chief Minister’s action had instilled confidence among the Dalit community in the government as well as gave a reassurance for their safety.
Speaking on the occasion, Congress Legislative Party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka stated that through his swift action, the Chief Minister gave a reassurance and courage to the Dalit community in connection with the custodial death of Mariyamma. He emphasised the need for a behavioural change among the police towards people especially Dalits. He felt that the government machinery should be strong enough to implement the schemes introduced by the State government for the Dalits and exuded confidence that the officials will strictly implement the ideas of the Chief Minister.
“With regards to the Dalit empowerment scheme, the government should extend the financial assistance directly to the eligible persons and enable them to decide their development path. Similarly, the SC backlog posts should be filled immediately,” he said. He also suggested that instead of recovering the assigned lands, the value of the land should be ascertained and the farmers should be given a share in the companies which acquired these assigned lands.
The Left parties suggested for sending a strong signal to all that the government will not tolerate any attrocities against the SCs and also implement an action plan for instilling confidence among the Dalits. They suggested for encouraging inter-caste marriages to abolish the caste discrimination. They stated that the Chief Minister’s response over the custodial death of Mariyamma had boosted self-confidence in the Dalit community.
CPI State secretary Chada Venkat Reddy expressed happiness over the Chief Minister himself taking the initiative for Dalit empowerment in the State and recalled that a similar meeting was held by Chandrashekhar Rao as the then leader of Telangana movement in 2003 itself. He felt that government schemes like Kalyana Laxmi were giving the much-needed support to the Dalits. CPM State secretary Thammineni Veerabhadram offered full support to the government’s efforts for Dalit empowerment. He suggested that the officials must implement the government’s decisions in good faith for Dalit empowerment.
BJP leader and former MLA Mothkupalli Narsimhulu opined that Chandrashekhar Rao will always have the divine blessings for his passionate efforts towards SC development. He said the Chief Minister’s decision to convene an All Party meeting has reinvigorated the hopes and aspirations of the Dalit community for their upliftment. He urged the Chief Minister to take measures to identify and support the Dalit families who were subjected to injustice after the formation of Telangana State. He extended support to the proposal of providing direct financial assistance to the Dalit beneficiaries of the Dalit empowerment scheme on the lines of Rythu Bandhu. He also said it was gratifying to see the Dalit students fulfilling their desire to do top jobs after coming out of the SC residential schools being operated by the government.