VIJAYAWADA
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday asserted that his party had an ‘inseparable bond’ with the backward classes (BCs).
The former Chief Minister’s comment assumes significance in the wake of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy according a priority to and inducting 10 BCs in his new Cabinet.
In a statement on Monday, Mr. Naidu said that the BCs enjoyed 34% reservations in local bodies for more than 26 years only because of the commitment of the TDP to their social cause and political empowerment. “The development of BCs has always been in the DNA of the TDP. With unwavering commitment, the TDP has been making all efforts for political awareness, socio-economic and political progress of the BCs for the past 40 years,” said Mr. Naidu.
The TDP president said that it was an undeniable fact that the TDP had always been “defined as a party of BCs”. It was the TDP which had triggered a nation-wide debate on the significance of the backward classes, he said, adding that the TDP recognised the importance of BCs and gave them V-C posts in nine out of 16 universities. The TDP regime had provided tools for the craftsmen and artisans under the ‘Adarna’ programme, he said.
The TDP chief also paid rich tributes to Mahatma Jyotiba Phule on the occasion of his birth anniversary. “Jyotiba Phule’s dedication for establishing an egalitarian society will never be forgotten. He had always strived for empowerment of women,” Mr. Naidu said.
