The Congress has always worked for the welfare of Dalits, Girijans, and other downtrodden sections of society, and they have remained loyal to the party, APCC president N. Raghuveera Reddy has said.
“Other political parties have been trying hard to drive a wedge between the Dalits, the Girijans, and the Congress, but they are bound to fail,” he said addressing a public meeting here on Sunday organised to mark the conclusion of the party’s Dalit Girijan Chaitanya Bus Yatra.
Welfare schemes“The Congress has been championing the cause of welfare of the downtrodden and all benefits that people of these sections have enjoyed are because of the party,” chairman of AICC SC Cell Koppula Raju said. The party had recognised the eminence of the Dalits and, in fact, was responsible for making the greatest Dalit leader of our times B.R. Ambedkar head the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution, he added. It was because of the welfare schemes designed and implemented by the Congress that there were a large number of bureaucrats in high position from the two sections, Union Minister of State J.D. Seelam said. He urged the Dalits and the Girijans not to get carried away by the false promises of other parties and vote for the Congress. “At the conclusion of the bus yatra, the party is confident of decent performance in the ensuing elections in Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
The Dalits and the Girijans should fight against social discrimination they had suffered over centuries, programme convener and in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Punjab in the AICC SC Cell Sirivella Prasad said.
Union Minister of State Killi Krupa Rani and Rajya Sabha MP T. Subbarami Reddy were among others who addressed the gathering. A large number of Congress leaders, including Dronamraju Srinivas, attended.