Asserting that the welfare schemes implemented by the late Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy for SCs and STs had benefited them immensely, YSR Congress Party honorary president YS Vijayamma demanded that the Congress leadership implement the SC and ST Sub-plan Bill across the country by introducing it in the Parliament and providing constitutional protection.
Participating in the debate over the SC, ST sub plan bill in the special assembly session on Saturday, Smt. Vijayamma welcomed the Government’s initiative to provide statutory protection to the SC, ST sub plan but doubted the Government’s sincerity in the implementation of the bill as it was timed just ahead of the election year with a view to regain the lost credibility of the Congress and to garner SC and ST votes.
“If the Government is sincere, there is no need for it to keep the bill secret till the last moment,” Vijayamma observed. Quoting Dr Ambedkar’s words that caste should not be an obstruction for development of SCs and STs, Smt. Vijayamma said that SCs and STs have remained economically and literally poor even today. “SCs are backward and STs are even more backward in literacy,” she said.
Observing that SCs and STs have benefited a lot thanks to the welfare schemes introduced by Dr. YSR, she said that the YSR regime worked hard for their economic empowerment.
“Dr. YSR built pucca houses besides providing health and food security, granting old age pensions to nearly 40 percent of the masses,” Smt. Vijayamma said, adding the SCs and STs benefitted most from the schemes. She said that a total of 20, 60,000 acres of forest land were distributed to the STs during the period of Dr. YSR with 3.3 lakh acres being distributed on a single day.
“SCs sand STs have also benefitted through the waiver of Rs.1120 Cr loans during the regime of Dr. YSR,” she said.
Vijayamma said Kiran Kumar Reddy Government has not done anything for the sake of SCs and STs in the last three years and the Government has only been continuing the TDP policies on the matter.