Minister for Social Welfare Koppula Eswar Photo: By arrangement
Minister for Scheduled Castes Development Koppula Eshwar has accused the Congress of trying to deceive Dalits in the SC, ST Declaration. He said that if the party was sincere, it could implement Dalit Bandhu like scheme, which it has promised in the declaration, in States under its rule with ₹12 lakh per beneficiary family.
“Forget about ₹12 lakh financial assistance per beneficiary family against ₹10 lakh being given under Dalit Bandhu by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government in Telangana now, let the Congress give at least ₹5 lakh per family first in States under its rule — Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka — so that people in Telangana could believe it,” Mr. Eshwar said here on Friday.
There were about 40 crore Dalits and tribals in the country and the Congress had ruled for over 50 years. But, the socio-economic status of the communities had not improved much as the party had not made any sincere attempt to better their lives except for implementing some schemes to corner their votes, he said while addressing a press conference.
“Had the Congress been sincere about promising and implementing a Dalit Bandhu type scheme, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge should have released the declaration in Congress-ruled States first and not in Telangana,” he said, and sought to know why the party had not established residential schools for the two communities.
On the other hand, the Telangana government had set up 1,006 residential schools and colleges for Dalits and tribals without making any promise. However, the Congress had come up with its declaration keeping in view the forthcoming Assembly elections. In the next eight year, Dalit Bandhu scheme would cover every family.
Mr. Eshwar ridiculed the talk of large scale corruption in the implementation of Dalit Bandhu. He said the announcement of 115 candidates for Assembly polls by the BRS leadership in one go was an indication of its preparedness to face the elections.
