Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has asserted that the government is committed to the welfare of the Dalits in the state.
Participating in Dalita Girijana Bata organised here on Thursday, Mr. Naidu said the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao were the first to take forward the ideology of B.R. Ambedkar and Babu Jagjivan Ram in the country. The TDP encouraged Dalits in all spheres of life. The TDP had supported the candidature of K.R. Narayanan for President and ensured the election of G.M.C. Balayogi as the Lok Sabha Speaker and Pratibha Bharati as the Assembly Speaker.
The State government accorded great importance to the development of Dalits which was reflected in the allocation of Rs. 8,500 crores for the SC, ST sub-plan. The government was trying sincerely to alleviate the living conditions of SCs and STs through the sub-plan. The government was keen on the welfare of Scheduled Castes and it was implementing several schemes for their uplift.
Accusing the previous governments of neglecting the SC Finance Corporation and funds released by the Centre for the welfare of the SCs, he said the SC Finance Corporation was almost dysfunctional when the TDP formed the government. With a view to utilise the SC funds properly, the government was implementing the SC sub plan. It was only during the TDP regime justice was rendered to the vulnerable sections of population, he said. Ministers Prattipati Pulla Rao, Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, Kollu Ravindra, Mahila Commission chairperson Nannapaneni Rajakumari and others were present.
