Congress leaders have alleged that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao continues to deliberately ‘insult’ B.R. Ambedkar by not paying homage to him even on his birth anniversary.
At separate press conferences and events, the Congress leaders reminded that the power he enjoyed now was due to the vision of Ambedkar who incorporated the right for creation of smaller states in the Constitution.
Congress MLC T. Jeevan Reddy at a press conference in Hyderabad said Telanaga was a reality because Ambedkar foresaw suppression of regional aspirations by authoritative groups and ensured Constitution guaranteed creation of smaller states. Telangana was achieved with those aspirations but its beneficiary KCR doesn’t have the respect for the national leader.
Mr. Reddy said even after five years of promise by KCR that a 125-foot statue of Ambedkar would be constructed in the heart of the city nothing had been done. The interest KCR showed in the construction of Pragati Bhavan and Secretariat was not shown in Ambedkar’s statue. This was nothing but the disrespect KCR had for Ambedkar and the Constitution. Governance in Telangana was against what the Constitution promised and the way people were being suppressed indicated it.
Mr. Reddy said private teachers were leading a miserable life with schools closed for more than a year but the government was totally insensitive to their plight. After much pressure the CM had announced ₹2,000 support but that would no way suffice, he said and demanded enhancement of that support to ₹5,000.
At a press conference in Kannekal in Nagarjunasagar constituency, AICC secretary Sampath Kumar said dalits were cheated by KCR in his seven-year rule as none of the promises he made was fulfilled. “Even Ambedkar was not spared as his 125-foot statue promise had not been honoured even after seven years,” he said
Instead of providing three acres of land to Dalit families as promised KCR was snatching the lands and land rights given to calits by Congress governments headed by Indira Gandhi and P. V. Narasimha Rao, he said. Dalits’ lands were being forcibly taken away for construction of mortuaries and function halls in the villages, he alleged.
The way dalit leaders of the Congress were arrested by the police abusing and physically assaulting them showed the respect the TRS had for dalits. And this behaviour of police on dalit leaders on Ambedkar’s birth anniversary showcased the government’s attitude towards dalits, he said.
