HYDERABAD: BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) has criticised the Congress party over its failure to fulfil promises made to Dalits, questioning when it plans to implement the ₹12 lakh assistance under the SC-ST declaration. Speaking at the Ambedkar Jayanti celebrations held at Telangana Bhavan, he also praised Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) for bringing to life the vision of Dr B.R. Ambedkar through path-breaking schemes like Dalit Bandhu.
Addressing the gathering after paying floral tributes to Ambedkar’s portrait, KTR said that the formation of new states was possible only due to the foresight of Dr Ambedkar. He emphasised that Ambedkar laid the foundation for modern India and enshrined Article 3 in the Constitution to ensure that new states could be formed without needing the consent of existing ones. “If we are able to speak from Telangana today, it is thanks to one man – Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar,” KTR remarked.
He added that KCR had implemented Ambedkar’s vision and had the courage to introduce welfare schemes that no other state in the country had attempted. “Dalit Bandhu is not a political stunt but a transformative policy driven by conviction,” he said.
Criticising the Congress party, KTR questioned when it would provide the ₹12 lakh promised under the SC-ST declaration announced in Chevella by AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge. “Not even ₹12 has been given, let alone ₹12 lakh,” he remarked, adding that it was time to question Congress leaders like Revanth Reddy about their unfulfilled promises. He also asked what happened to the promise of ₹6 lakh for SC/STs under the double-bedroom housing scheme.
KTR accused Congress of misusing Ambedkar’s name for electoral gains while failing to uphold his legacy. “Ambedkar was not a leader only for Dalits. He was a visionary who laid the intellectual and constitutional foundation of India after independence,” he said.
He condemned efforts to confine Ambedkar’s legacy to a single community, asserting that just as Gandhi and Nehru fought for independence, Ambedkar fought for India’s democratic future. KTR highlighted that the vision of Ambedkar and intellectuals like Dr Fazl Ali led to the idea of forming states on linguistic lines, ensuring administrative convenience.
Describing Ambedkar as a global scholar, KTR noted how the Baroda Maharaja had supported him in pursuing higher education at Columbia University. Drawing a parallel, he said the Telangana government had sent thousands of students abroad for education and established over 1,000 gurukuls (residential schools), investing heavily to ensure students could compete on a global scale.
KTR pointed out that over the past ten years, the Telangana government had supported 7,000 students with ₹25 lakh each to pursue education abroad, demonstrating that KCR had turned Ambedkar’s educational ideals into action.
Referring to other unfulfilled promises by Congress, KTR asked why SC/STs were yet to receive their promised 28% share in government contracts or land titles for assigned lands. He also questioned the delay in disbursing promised educational incentives under the Vidya Jyoti scheme, which included ₹10,000 for Class 10 pass-outs, ₹15,000 for Intermediate, ₹25,000 for graduates, ₹1 lakh for postgraduates, and ₹5 lakh for PhD students.
KTR asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government was anti-poor. “Modi opposes schemes like free electricity, loan waivers, or ₹2,000 pensions for the poor, but has no problem waiving ₹16.5 lakh crore in corporate loans,” he said.
He concluded by stating that if elections were held today in Telangana, the BRS would return to power with the force of a storm.
Live: భారత రాజ్యాంగ నిర్మాత, భారతరత్న డా. బాబా సాహెబ్ అంబేద్కర్ గారి జయంతి కార్యక్రమం.
📍 తెలంగాణ భవన్, హైదరాబాద్ https://t.co/cGcB1QgIBp
— BRS Party (@BRSparty) April 14, 2025
