Congress Betraying Ambedkar's Principles: KTR

BRS working president K T Rama Rao today strongly criticised the Congress for "failing to honour Dr B R Ambedkar both in principle and practice, reducing him to a mere campaign slogan" for political advantage.

He visited the Dr B R Ambedkar Memorial at Necklace Road to pay his respects, accompanied by several leaders including Leader of the Opposition in the Council S Madhusudhana Chary, former ministers Talasani Srinivas Yadav, Gangula Kamalakar, Koppula Eshwar and V Srinivas Goud, MP Vaddiraju Ravichandra, and BRS leader R S Praveen Kumar.

Along with party leaders, he also visited the museum in the building beneath the statue and observed the exhibits detailing the life and historical contributions of Ambedkar.

Speaking with party leaders and supporters later at Telangana Bhavan during the observance of Ambedkar's birth anniversary, he accused the Congress of historically marginalising Ambedkar and hindering Ambedkar's political advancement and reforms.

KTR said that the Congress government in Telangana continued this trend by neglecting the welfare initiatives pledged in Ambedkar's name.

He praised BRS president and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for implementing Ambedkar's vision through Dalit Bandhu, which provided Rs 10 lakh in financial assistance to help beneficiaries become entrepreneurs.

The BRS leader said that the Congress had promised to increase this amount to Rs 12 lakh under a scheme named Ambedkar Abhayahastam, but had quietly abandoned the promise after gaining power.

He claimed that the Congress' SC/ST Declaration had also remained unfulfilled, as key commitments including improved reservations, financial support for students from marginalised communities and a pledge to allocate 72% of government contracts to BC, SC and ST communities had not been realised in the past two and a half years.

He accused the government of reducing social justice to a mere footnote in its manifesto.

KTR also criticised the Congress government for "allowing welfare infrastructure to deteriorate", and claimed that the government residential schools established under the BRS were now facing neglect.

He also condemned the administration for limiting public access to the 125-foot Ambedkar statue in Hyderabad for political reasons, claiming that such actions disrespected both Ambedkar's legacy and the communities he represented.

KTR urged BRS members to communicate this message at the grassroots level and expose "the Congress' betrayal" of society as a whole.

He also announced plans for a series of outreach programs addressing social justice issues in the coming months, following the party's Foundation Day celebrations on April 27.