The State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded that the government take steps to implement welfare scheme for grant of ₹10-lakh assistance to Backward Classes (BCs) on the lines of Dalit Bandhu being implemented on a pilot basis.
The government should take steps to revive the BC sub-plan and ensure repayment of fee reimbursement dues to BCs. The government should stop adopting a “step-motherly” attitude towards BCs who constituted the largest chunk of population in the State, BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar said.
In a detailed letter addressed to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Mr. Sanjay Kumar said that he had received several representations from BC communities, seeking implementation of scheme on the lines of Dalit Bandhu during his ongoing padayatra covering different districts. The BJP had welcomed Dalit Bandhu proposed by the government but wanted the scheme to be implemented across the State. Several representations submitted to the government in this regard went unheeded.
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“The implementation of Dalit Bandhu in Huzurabad and four other mandals exposes the government’s concern towards weaker sections and dalits,” he said. He expressed concern that artisans and others dependent on traditional occupations were suffering on account of mechanisation and corporatisation.
Several BC communities which came under the most backward classes were suffering severe hardships on account of this and there were reports of starvation deaths of the members of these communities. The government had, however, remained unmoved by the plight of these sections and the BC sub-plan, the implementation of which was assured by the Chief Minister in 2017, had been shelved.
“Implementation of BC sub-plan would have entailed additional budgetary allocation of ₹10,000 crore for the welfare of these communities and it would have gone a long way in alleviating the problems of these sections,” he said. The government should therefore accord top most priority to the welfare of these sections and ensure that adequate budgetary allocations were made for effective implementation of schemes aimed at their welfare.
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The government should fulfil the promises like construction of ‘atma gaurava’ (self respect) bhavans it had made for the BC communities and ensure that loans were sanctioned to the needy for ensuring their livelihood. The BJP was committed to fighting for the cause of BCs and it would launch a sustained struggle in their support if the government continued its step-motherly attitude towards them.