Ramdas Athawale asks TRS and YSRC to join NDA

Hyderabad: Union minister of state for social justice Ramdas Athawale invited the TRS and the YSRC to join the newly formed BJP-led NDA government in the Centre as part of inclusive politics.

The minister who  was in the city on Saturday for his first visit after taking oath for  a second term in the Narendra Modi government appealed to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy of Andhra Pradesh and K. Chandrasekhar Rao of Telangana state to  follow the path of Dr B.R Ambedkar, who preached on inclusive Politics.

 He said, “ The Modi government doesn’t oppose any marginalised community. The government is in full support of the SCs, STs, OBCs, specially abled  and others. The Centre wants to study their problems and make policies according to that.”

Asked about the recent suicide of Maharashtra  medical PG student Dr Payal Tadvi following alleged caste harassment by her colleagues, and the “institutional killing” of Dalit students in the country, Mr Athawale said the Maharashtra government was investigating the case and the suspects had been detained  by the police.

Emphasising on the reservation policy of the Centre, he said, “Our government has taken a decision on reservation based on economic status. We want to ensure social as well as economic justice.”

Mr Athawale said the Maharashtra government had allotted Rs 800 crore for the construction of Dr Ambedkar’s statue which when completed would be taller than the Statue of Liberty in the US.