Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment A. Narayana Swamy expressed regret that the country continued to be bogged down by socio-economic inequalities even after 75 years of independence and called for concerted efforts to eradicate untouchability and social ostracism which were causing untold misery to the marginalised sections.
Participating as chief guest in a ‘Samarasata Sammelanam’ organised to mark the completion of 105 years of ‘Adi Andhra Sammelanam’ that was held in Vijayawada, Mr. Narayana Swamy said that even as various political parties have ruled the nation, the inequalities have continued to persist.
Mr. Narayana Swamy stressed the need for a debate on the despicable practices of treating fellow human beings as untouchables, and ostracising people, so that joint efforts could be made to curb such social evils. He also spoke on religious conversions which he said had become a hot topic of discussion.
“The desired change would be possible only through reforms and when the Constitution is implemented in letter and spirit. The downtrodden could be uplifted to some extent by providing them reservations but it should be ensured that the targeted sections received the benefits thereof,” the Union Minister of State said.
Further, he said that the Scheduled Castes-Scheduled Tribes sub-plan did not translate into action in 15 States as the respective State governments took the Central government’s policies for granted.
MLC Dokka Manikya Varaprasad, RSS Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Sunil Ambekar, Legislative Assembly former deputy speaker Mandali Buddha Prasad, former chief secretary I.Y.R. Krishna Rao and Kamalananda Bharati of Bhuvaneswari Peetham (Gannavaram) were among those present.
Earlier, the dignitaries released books titled ‘Niruddha Bharatam’ written by Mangipudi Venkata Sarma, ‘Krishna Nadi Teerana Samatha Udyamalu’ authored by Duggaraju Srinivasa Rao and books written by Budati Venkateswarlu and Pulikonda Subbachari.
