Amaravati, (Samajweekly) Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and former state minister Nakka Anand Babu on Tuesday alleged that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has turned anti-Dalit after winning the polls.
Babu said that the YSRCP government and the state police department have suppressed the ‘Dalits Prathigatana’ rally with total contempt of the fundamental rights of the weaker sections.
“Reddy won the elections with the support of SC, ST and minority voters in 2019. But after coming to power, he has been suppressing them with an iron hand. The police have behaved in a high-handed manner by not giving permission to the Dalit Prathighatana,” he said.
The TDP leader also alleged that leaders from the SC and ST communities are not being allowed to stage democratic protests against the atrocities of the ruling party.
The opposition leader alleged that Dalit leaders were placed under house arrest when they were going to take part in the Vijayawada rally.
“Andhra Pradesh will top the list when it comes to suppression of Dalit rights. Chief Minister Jagan Reddy got the credit for bringing back the culture of tonsuring to humiliate and harass Dalits publicly,” Babu alleged.
He also demanded the state government to explain why it is allegedly slapping SC, ST atrocities cases against people from those communities.
“It is clear that Reddy is not able to tolerate if the Dalits raise their voice against atrocities and suppression of their rights. Ironically, the SC, ST voters came under unprecedented exploitation and persecution under the Reddy regime on which they had put very high hopes before the elections,” he claimed.
Babu also challenged the Chief Minister and his advisors to come for a debate on the overall development and well-being of SC, ST and minority communities.
The former minister alleged that the YSRCP regime is acting out of vengeance against all the Dalits who are questioning the government’s illegalities.
“The Constitution conferred many rights on Dalits but the Jagan Reddy rule is violating and suppressing all of them,” he alleged.
