The condition of tribal people, especially those living in East Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts, hasn't shown much improvement in the 65 years of Independence.
Had the revolutionary leader Alluri Seetharama Raju been alive today, he would have taken up cudgels against the government for safeguarding their rights, BJP State president G. Kishen Reddy has said.
Mr. Reddy made a whirlwind tour of the Agency areas of the district and paid tributes to the revolutionary freedom fighter, who had mobilised the tribal people to wage a battle against the British rulers, on Monday.
Coming down heavily on the government, he decried the neglect of memorials of Alluri Seetharama Raju.
“Had these memorials been in some other country or state, they would have become places of tourist importance. I can imagine the great role played by Alluri in mobilising the tribal people against the mighty British rulers in the days when there were no sophisticated communication and transport facilities. Today, after all the technological development and innovations, the conditions in the tribal areas are more or less the same,” he said.
Demands
Memorials should be developed further and safeguarded to enable posterity to know the important role played by Alluri Seetharama Raju in the fight against the British. He demanded, among other things, holding of official programmes to mark the birth and death anniversaries of Alluri every year, renaming of Visakhapatnam district as Alluri Seetharama Raju Visakhapatnam district, recognition of Mampa, Rajendrapalem, and K.D. Peta as places of national importance, and developing them as places of tourist interest. He also sought establishment of a museum to enable students and youth know the life history of the revolutionary leader. Mr. Reddy threatened to launch an agitation in the Agency if the State government failed to meet the demands by May 7 next year.
BJP State general secretary Somu Veerraju and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha national secretary P.N.V. Madhav were among those who accompanied Mr. Reddy.
Appeal
At Mampa, Mr. Reddy appealed to the general public to contribute their mite for the revival of the memorials.
He said many philanthropists were coming forward to maintain the memorials.
Mampa sarpanch A. Satyanarayana, family members of associates or followers of Alluri Seetharama Raju — Harimurthy Padal, Padala Veerabhadra Rao, Alluri's nephew Satyanarayana Raju, former MPP Badugu Rama Rajyam, and Gollapati Nookaraju, who donated land for construction of a memorial, and Ch. S.R. Murthy were among those who were felicitated on the occasion.
A number of party activists and leaders were present.
