Hyderabad: Congress legislators submitted a Congress anti-Dalit memorandum to Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla on Wednesday, seeking his intervention over alleged BRS conduct involving Dalits and women.
Members of the Telangana Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council belonging to Congress submitted the memorandum to the Governor. They sought his intervention as the State’s highest constitutional custodian to protect the dignity, safety and self-respect of Dalits and women.
The memorandum covered alleged incidents both inside and outside the Legislature. It described September 8 as a “dark day” and levelled several allegations against BRS leaders. Congress alleged that BRS MLCs Tatha Madhu and Naveen Reddy had targeted and humiliated Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar.
According to the memorandum, they used a slur involving the Speaker’s deceased mother. Congress claimed the alleged remarks had hurt the Dalit community and women.
Congress anti-Dalit memorandum cites Assembly incidents
The Congress anti-Dalit memorandum also levelled allegations against BRS MLA T. Harish Rao over incidents outside the Assembly gates. It alleged that Harish Rao first removed his shirt in front of media cameras. Several others subsequently followed him and threw their shirts at police personnel, according to Congress.
The memorandum further alleged that the group pressed forward and came unacceptably close to women police personnel while they were on duty. Congress also accused several BRS leaders, led by MLA K.T. Rama Rao, of physically assaulting police personnel, including women officers.
The memorandum then referred to a march by members of the Dalit community towards Erravalli. Congress described the march as lawful and peaceful. It claimed the participants had gone there seeking an apology from BRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
Congress anti-Dalit memorandum targets alleged ‘cleansing’
The memorandum alleged that BRS workers later sprinkled turmeric water and milk on streets used by the Dalit protesters. Congress described the alleged act as a practice of “untouchability” and accused BRS leaders of circulating photographs and videos of it.
“The BRS, whose moral values are drawn from either the German Nazi Party or the American Ku Klux Klan, is trying to take our state, and India, back to the dark era when untouchability was commonplace,” the memorandum read.
The comparison formed part of the Congress memorandum’s allegations against the Opposition party. Congress leaders also used the representation to raise their broader political allegations concerning the BRS’s record on Dalit issues.
They cited the BRS’s earlier promise to appoint a Dalit Chief Minister and alleged that the commitment had been broken. The memorandum also referred to the removal of T. Rajaiah, who belonged to the Dalit community, from the Deputy Chief Minister’s post.
Congress further alleged that the BRS had denied representation to the Madiga community. The memorandum cited the earlier promise to provide three acres of land and alleged that it had been abandoned.
It also described the Dalit Bandhu programme as an “election stunt”. In addition, Congress alleged that Rs 1,296 crore in SC Sub-Plan funds had remained unspent.
The party presented these issues as part of what it described as a decade-long betrayal of the Dalit community by the BRS. Finally, the signatories asked Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla to intervene over the alleged incidents.
They sought the highest punishment under applicable law for those they accused of directly committing the acts. The Congress legislators also demanded action against what they described as the “original conspirators” within the BRS’s top leadership.