BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha State presidentChalavadi Narayanaswamy has said that the Congress had used Dalits only as its vote-bank and ‘cheated’ the community by doing nothing for its development in the last 70 years. He also held that the Congress’ “anti-Dalit mindset” forced the Dalit communities to desert the party and join the BJP.
“Dalits, including me, were under the impression that Congress would work for their welfare and supported it in its electoral politics all these years. But, it used the Dalits as a vote-bank and forgot them after assuming power. Most of the Dalits who have realised its anti-Dalit approach have deserted the party. The erosion of its Dalit support base is the major reason for the decline of Congress and the rise of BJP in the country,” he said.
He was, along with BJP SC Morcha State vice-president Ambaraya Ashtagi and other Dalit leaders, addressing a media conference at Aiwan-e-Shahi Guest House in Kalaburagi on Sunday.
Referring to the Socio-economic and Educational Survey, which was also known as the caste census, conducted during the tenure of Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister, Mr. Narayanswamy said that the Dalits were the largest community in the State as per the leaked findings of the survey and the Congress had always neglected its welfare and never thought of choosing a Dalit leader for the post of Chief Minister of Karnataka.
“Veteran Congress leaders such as M. Mallikarjun Kharge and G. Parameshwara were never considered for the post of Chief Minister just because they hailed from the Dalit community. The leaders from the dominant casts ensured the defeat of Mr. Parameshwara to remove him from the race for the top post in the State. Mr. Kharge was cleverly sidelined when the question of Dalit Chief Minister rose in the party. I too was targeted in the party just because I demanded a Dalit Chief Minister. Frustrated by Congress’ anti-Dalit mindset, I quit the party after working for it for nearly 40 years and joined BJP,” he said.
Asked about the impressions that the BJP would change the Constitution and end the caste-based reservations introduced for the development of oppressed and marginalised communities, Mr. Narayanaswamy termed it as false propaganda by the Congress. “The Ambedkar-drafted Constitution and the caste-based reservations would continue. It was because of the Constitution that an ordinary tea-seller [referring to Narendra Modi] has become the Prime Minister nd the party would never think of changing its basic structure,” Mr. Narayanaswamy said.