The suicide bid by two youth over non-fulfilment of the government’s assurance of providing three-acre land each to dalit families is turning out to be a major controversy even as the opposition parties accused Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao-led administration of failing to stop atrocities on dalits, which they alleged, are increasing by the day.
The two youth - M. Srinivas (28) and Y. Parushuramulu (30) - set themselves on fire in front of TRS MLA Rasamayi Balakishan’s party office in Manakondur of Karimnagar district alleging irregularities in the selection of the beneficiaries.
They were immediately rushed to a corporate hospital in the State capital where they are undergoing treatment.
Representatives of different political parties and voluntary organisations working for the cause of dalits visited the hospital on Monday to express their solidarity with the victims who suffered grievous injuries.
Prominent among them who visited the injured youth included TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, TDP Telangana State unit working president A. Revanth Reddy, representatives of T-MASS, voluntary organisation led by CPI State secretary Chada Venkat Reddy.
Uttam’s open letter
Mr. Uttam Kumar Reddy, in an open letter to the Chief Minister, lamented that the State had earned a repute in the country in terms of atrocities on dalits. This is evident from a series of incidents, including suicides by over 3,500 farmers, majority of whom hail from dalit communities and other marginalised sections.
Quoting the details of the atrocities on dalits collected through the Right To Information Act, he said a sense of insecurity gripped the State following the “atrocities perpetrated by the ruling TRS leaders and police”.He said the seriousness of the issue could be gauged from the fact that 1,592 cases had been registered under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act till December last year after the TRS government took over the reins.
State-sponsored murders: TDP
Mr. Revanth Reddy described the deaths of dalits and tribal youth as “State sponsored murders” and recalled that the police did not register cases in a majority of these incidents unless serious protests were organised. While the government had promised to distribute three acre each to over four lakh dalit and tribal families in the election manifesto, it could distribute little over 10,000 acres to 4,007 families in three-and-a-half years, he alleged.
The two youth who went to seek the MLAs appointment to represent their case were allegedly humiliated by the staff present there and this prompted them to resort to the extreme step. He wanted criminal cases to be registered against those responsible for the incident.
Mr. Chada Venkat Reddy demanded that the Chief Minister take steps to fulfil his pre-election promise besides initiating stringent action against those responsible for the incident.