Chandrababu’s Sudden Love For Dalits After 4 Years  

Mummidivaram, West Godavari District: The tragedy of this region is that it is endowed with a wealth of natural resources and forests, and is yet languishing in neglect. Progress remains a distant dream for the people of this area, in spite of the abundance of resources. It is here that Nitya Kalyanam is performed to Murumulla Veereswara Swamy along with Sri Bhadrakali. Mummidivaram boasts of having the second biggest mangrove forest in the country. Apart from the Godavari, you have Goutami and Vruddha Goutami flowing through this region. This coastal region is dotted with island villages.

During the course of my Padayatra, it saddened me to see that work initiated by my father, the late Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy, on connecting these places through bridges, remained where it had been left off in his time. It is indeed unfortunate that people of these island villages are forced to use conventional boats as their principal mode of transport. Equally tragic is the fact that while the mighty Godavari flows through this area, people here have no access to proper drinking water!

Venkateswara Rao, a villager from Uppalagupta said that Dalita Teja was yet another farce in the series of dramas enacted by Chandrababu Naidu. Rulers who had promised Innova cars to Dalits, are not giving them to the eligible and deserving, I was told. The few which were given were distributed among TDP leaders, while gullible Dalits were denied their due in this respect too. Venkateswara Rao said—“How can these will these privileged people work against the poor in this manner?“

Also Read:Dalits Will Teach Chandrababu a Lesson: Mothkupalli

Jai Bheem, a Ph.D scholar, slammed the government for its attitude towards the Dalit community. He expressed his anguish stating that the loans being advanced by the ST Corporation were being given on the recommendation of Janmabhoomi committee members. This was subverting the system in an unjust manner, he said. Leaders of the ruling party brag about visiting Dalit homes for lunch and resolving their problems on the spot, Dalita Teja.

But then, as a Dalit friend pointed out, the flipside of it is that these very leaders eat lunch from hot packs, participate in programs on a token basis, get themselves photographed on such occasions, cast petitions received from the poor, aside, and disappear. 648 welfare hostels have been shut down in Chandrababu Naidu‘s rule, he said. While 17% of the budget was supposed to be allocated for their welfare, this was never done and of the amount located, only 50 to 60% of the funds were spent. He said—“Is this Dalita Teja?”

Friends from Ipolavaram, who met me today, said that it was a known fact as the late Balayogi used to say, that Chandrababu would use anyone’s name for his own benefit, and later discard them. After Balayogi passed away, at a condolence meeting held in his village, Edurlanka Ramalayampeta, Chandrababu Naidu vowed to transform the place into a model village. He promised to redeem the debt he owed to Balayogi in this fashion, but the matter was soon forgotten, the villagers said.

The village does not even have the basic facility of a bus service, they pointed out, nor did they have drinking water. Roads and other basic facilities are also missing. All these things, small as they are, reflect Chandrababu Naidu‘s attitude towards the Dalits. Thanks to your father’s initiative, the Annampalli aqueduct was completed, benefitting us enormously, they said.

Chandrababu Naidu’s sudden love for the Kadapa steel plant is indeed very strange. It was my father’s dream to have a steel plant established at Kadapa and it was he who initiated the process. It was Chandrababu Naidu, who back then, criticised the idea constantly and tried to create hurdles along every step of the way. For four years, Chandrababu Naidu did not pay any attention to the steel plant at Kadapa, out of fear and envy that the credit for it would go to my father. He cancelled the private management’s mining lease land allocated for the project.

At the same time he did not allocate land for the steel factory to be built by the Centre. Now, he pretends to wake up to the promise of steel plant and tries to deceive the people through ‘fasts’ and protests! As long as he was with the BJP in the NDA government, he did not speak on the subject fearing that his own selfish political interests would get damaged in the bargain. It is only after the TDP moved out of the NDA alliance that Chandrababu Naidu seems to have been reminded of the steel Plant. Interestingly, this activity on his part began only after the YSRCP vowed to set up the steel plant at Kadapa after coming to power.

TDP MPss flippant remarks on the steel plant and ‘fasts’ showcase the casual attitude and the utter lack of sincerity of the Chandrababu Naidu government, on this critical issue. YSRCP had promised to get the steel plant at Kadapa completed within three years of assuming office, if it is elected with the blessings of the people. This would give jobs to thousands of unemployed youth in the state. It is the party’s resolve to turn this dream into reality.

I have a question for the chief minister—In the four years of your tenure, is it not true that there was a steep rise in the number of atrocities on Dalits? Is it not a fact that you, your cabinet colleagues and other party leaders humiliated the Dalits and spoke derisively about them? Are you worthy of leading any program in the name of Dalit Teja?