Did Siddaramaiah join the Congress for a livelihood? asks Dalit leader
The Hindu
Dalit leaders are joining the BJP because of suppression and them being sidelined in the Congress: Ambaraya Ashatagi
Hitting back at Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who had reportedly said that Dalit leaders had quit the Congress and joined the BJP for securing their livelihood, State Vice-President of BJP’s Scheduled Castes Morcha Ambaraya Ashtagi said that the remarks were insulting to Dalit community and their political leadership.
“Speaking at a by-election campaign at Sindgi, Mr. Siddaramaiah had said that Dalit leaders had deserted Congress and joined the BJP for securing their livelihood. It is true that Dalits are increasingly quitting the Congress and joining the BJP these years. For, the Congress had taken the Dalit community for granted and treated it as its vote-bank hardly making any effort for the development of the community,” Mr. Ashtagi said in a media statement released here on Thursday.
Mr. Ashtagi further said that systematically sidelining and suppressing the Dalit leaders in the Congress are the other important reasons for many Dalit leaders deserting the Congress and joining the BJP.
The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.