Congress failed to uplift Dalits during its decades- long rule in the past, alleges KCR

BRS: K. Chandrasekhar Rao attacked Congress for failing to implement concrete programmes to uplift Dalits. He praised BRS' commitment to Dalit Bandhu scheme & installing 125-ft tall statue of Ambedkar. He slammed BJP for privatising national assets & accused Congress of making false promises.

Mounting a scathing attack on the Congress party, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao alleged that the Congress party had defeated Dr B R Ambedkar, the visionary leader and the champion of the cause of Dalits, in Parliamentary elections in 1950s.

Despite ruling the country for decades, the Congress party had failed to implement any concrete programmes to uplift Dalits and adhere to Dr Ambedkar’s ideology, Mr Rao flayed while addressing an election meeting held in Mandamarri town of Chennuru Assembly constituency on Tuesday. He said the BRS demonstrated its commitment to the cause of Dalits by implementing the landmark Dalit Bandhu scheme for the socio-economic empowerment of Dalits. We have named our new Secretariat after Dr Ambedkar and installed a 125-ft tall statue of the great national leader to draw inspiration from his values and ideals, he said.

The successive Congress governments have neglected the plight of Dalits, who faced exploitation and discrimination for centuries, he charged.

The Dalit Bandhu scheme is transforming the lives of Dalit families by empowering them economically and socially, he said, asserting that the BRS is committed to ensure that every Dalit family is covered under the Dalit Bandhu scheme.

Taking on the Congress party, Mr Rao alleged that the then Congress government was responsible for giving 49% stakes in the Nizam era’s Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) to the Centre due to its incompetence to repay the loans.

From a dismal condition during the successive Congress regimes, the SCCL made a remarkable turnaround since the formation of Telangana. Driven by the pragmatic policies and strategies, the SCCL is treading the growth path, Mr Rao said.

He added that the SCCL’s profits increased from ₹419 crore in 2014 to ₹2,184 crore during 2022-2023. The Dasara bonus of ₹700 crore was already paid from the share of profits to the SCCL workers and Deepavali bonus will be paid soon. This amounts to payment of a total bonus (Dasara and Deepavali) of about ₹1,000 crore this year.