Nalgonda: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud reaffirmed the Congress’ commitment to safeguarding tribal rights under the slogan "Jal-Jameen-Jangal" (Water-Land-Forest resources) on Sunday.
Speaking at the inauguration of a week-long closed-door tribal empowerment training programme organised by Telangana Scheduled Tribes Cooperative Finance Corporation Ltd (TRICOR) in Vijay Vihar, Nagarjuna Sagar, Goud emphasised the party’s dedication to tribal welfare. He highlighted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s marathon padayatra advocating for tribal rights over natural resources and urged Congress members to work diligently until Rahul becomes the Prime Minister.
Goud praised Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra for addressing the issues faced by the impoverished, particularly tribal communities, and criticised the BJP government at the Centre for neglecting tribal rights. He called for tribal unity to protect their interests and reiterated the Congress’ role in enacting the Forest Rights Act (FRA) in 2006.
Addressing the audience, Goud noted that the Congress came to power in Telangana with the support of SCs, STs, BCs, and minorities. He announced that the caste census in Telangana is 90 per cent complete and assured that reservations for BCs in local elections would be based on the survey results.
The training programme aims to raise awareness among tribal groups, including Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) from Telangana and other states, strengthen tribal leadership, and enhance connectivity with tribal communities. Nearly 100 representatives from various tribal groups attended the event.
Also present were AICC In-charge to Telangana Deepa Dasmunsi, senior Congress leader Kunduru Jana Reddy, Nalgonda MP K. Raghuveer Reddy, Nagarjunasagar MLA K. Jayaveer Reddy, and other tribal MLAs. The TPCC president launched his district tour from Nagarjuna Sagar during the programme.
