Telugu Desam Party President and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu called for unity among the Dalit organisations, opposition parties and silently suffering victims to fight back against the rising atrocities under “the oppressive” regime of CM Jagan Mohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh.
Naidu, in his inaugural speech at the ‘Dalita Sankaravam’, launched a blistering attack saying that the YSRCP government was anti-Dalit and AP people were suffering under the leadership of an anti-Dalit Chief Minister.
“Though countless atrocities were occurring in the nook and corner of the state in the past 15 months, the CM was maintaining an enigmatic silence without opening his mouth to condemn the incidents”, said Naidu further adding that this was motivating the miscreants to target and exploit Dalits more and more. A relentless struggle should be waged to put an end to this injustice.
Stating that the Dalits enjoyed rights and liberties under the TDP regime, Naidu asked why the Jagan Reddy regime was maintaining an unusual silence on the heinous crimes like the gang-rape of a 16-year-old Dalit girl by 12 members in Rajahmundry.
“Nobody was arrested till now. Moreover, the girl’s parents were threatened not to open their mouths. The government behaved atrociously even though the girl was harassed and tortured for over 5 days before being left in front of the police station in utter disregard for the laws of the land. Lawlessness has risen to a peak level under the insensitive and indifferent regime”, said Naidu.
Chandrababu Naidu accused the YSRCP rule of turning a blind eye to the ghastly incident in which some ruling party miscreants attempted to burn alive the whole family of a Dalit girl in Mudinepalli area in Krishna district.
Naidu said, “By God’s grace, they escaped with their lives but their house was burnt to the ground. The government did not care to take any action so far and the Dalit organisations should wage a battle against this atrocity. Pressure should be mounted on the Jagan Reddy regime to build new houses and shelter for all the Dalits who were becoming victims of injustices. The victims should be given Government jobs to lead normal lives”
The TDP chief called for a massive agitation on the lines of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ stir that was waged across America forcing the Donald Trump administration there to change its attitude eventually under tremendous public pressure.
Similarly, ‘Dalits Lives Matter’ agitation should be run relentlessly to bring the Jagan Reddy regime to its knees. The fight should be taken to Delhi where complaints should be given to the Constitutional heads, the President of India, the Union Ministers and also to the institutions like the SC Commission and the Human Rights Commission, he said.
Naidu demanded the YSRCP government to explain why it failed to take any action when a Dalit woman was murdered in cold blood for her property and her body was left in the neighbouring Telangana state.
Naidu referred to the ‘heinous attack’ in the middle of the road on Dalit doctor Dr. Sudhakar in Visakhapatnam and he was branded as insane and thrown into a mental hospital. The court took suo motu notice of the case and ordered a CBI investigation. The CBI has now said that there was a big conspiracy angle in the Dr. Sudhakar case and that it would submit full evidence to the court in due course of time. In another case, Dalit doctor Dr. Anitha Rani was also harassed by taking her photographs while in the bathroom. She was targeted just for opposing the ruling party excesses, it was alleged.
