Hyderabad: With a view to wooing more Dalits to the party, TRS leaders and its cadre will raise ‘Jai Bhim’ slogans and praise Constitution founder Dr B.R. Ambedkar at all public meetings henceforth. The party leadership has issued such a directive to all its units.
Earlier, TRS leaders used to start and end their speeches with “Jai Telangana”. Later, they added, “Jai Bharat”, after Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao announced his plans to make waves in national politics. The present push is seen in this context.
In fact, in recent years, the TRS government is taking several measures for the uplift of Dalits, including the much-trumpeted Dalit Bandhu Scheme.
State Assembly polls are slated for December next year.
Curiously, a press release issued by the CMO on Thursday to announce Chandrashekar Rao’s decision to name the new Secretariat complex after B.R. Ambedkar ended with a “Jai Bhim, Jai Telangana and Jai Bharat” line.
In calculated moves, the Telangana Assembly passed a resolution on September 13 urging the Centre to name the new Parliament building in Delhi after B.R. Ambedkar. Minister K.T. Rama Rao, who moved the resolution, ended his speech with “Jai Bhim”.
The ruling TRS’ stand towards Dalits witnessed a complete change since the Huzurabad Assembly bypoll last year. After then health minister Etala Rajendar’s abrupt removal from the state Cabinet in May 2021 and his resignation as MLA to join the BJP, the subsequent bypoll in Huzurabad was held. In this backdrop, the CM announced the Dalit Bandhu Scheme in July 2021, yet the TRS could not win the seat and Etala as BJP nominee won the bypoll.
Under the scheme, the TRS had promised Rs 10 lakh to each Dalit family, starting with those in Huzurabad, to start their own business ventures. At that time, opposition parties alleged that Chandrashekar Rao launched this scheme with a view to wooing Dalit voters in Huzurabad, who comprised a majority there.
The Opposition also pointed out that the Chief Minister had failed to fulfil his earlier promises to give each Dalit family three acres of agriculture land, make a Dalit the first CM of the new Telangana state and provide them free 2BHK houses. Eventually, he himself, hailing from a forward community, took charge as Chief Minister.
While the Chief Minister launched the Dalit Bandhu Scheme in Huzurbad in August 2021, he later extended it to all the remaining 118 Assembly constituencies, but covering only 100 Dalit families in each. Recently, the Cabinet approved to extend this scheme to another 1,500 Dalit families in each of these constituencies.
The TRS government is also implementing several schemes such as T-Pride to encourage Dalit entrepreneurs set up industrial units. It has started hundreds of residential schools and colleges for Dalits and extended Rs 20 lakh each as overseas scholarship to enable them pursue masters abroad.
With Chandrashekar Rao planning to launch a new national party by Dasara, TRS’ pro-Dalit stand is a subject of heated discussion in political circles. Dalits and tribals are the most-neglected segments of the society through successive governments after Independence, especially in northern States. Chandrashekar Rao aims to woo them as the TRS’ central vote bank, opposition leaders feel.
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