STs will grow under Congress: Naik

HYDERABAD: Congress Adivasi cell chairman T. Bellaiah Naik said that the party’s SC/ST Declaration was the outcome of several initiatives of the past such as the Land Ceiling Act, distribution of 25 lakh acres to Dalits and enactment of the Forest Rights Act that gave land rights to tribals.

“We are taking details of the Declaration door to door. I call on all caste organisations to support us. We have addressed the issues that they had mentioned,” Naik said. Upon coming to power, the Congress would support panchayats with sufficient funds, he said.

Naik alleged that the BRS was discriminating against tribals. After Rekha Naik was denied a ticket, Mahbubabad SP Sharat Chandra Naik, her son-in-law, was transferred.

By allowing retired officers to continue to work in Genco and Transco, qualified officers from the reserved categories were not being allowed to occupy senior positions, he alleged. “Of the 30 officers who are occupying these posts 25 belong to one caste,” Naik alleged.

Reiterating that the declarations have been made after factoring in the budgetary constraints, TPCC senior vice-president Mallu Ravi said the party was ready for a debate.