Hyderabad: A large-scale “Chalo Indira Park – Maha Dharna” was held at Dharna Chowk near Indira Park in Hyderabad, demanding the immediate implementation of the 12 major promises made in the SC/ST Chevella Declaration by the Congress party during the elections.
The protest was organised under the leadership of Dalit community leader Teegala Ashok Kumar. Leaders of the Bharata Chaitanya Yuva Jana Party (BCY Party), various SC, ST and BC organisations, social activists, students, women, youth and intellectuals participated in large numbers.
Addressing the gathering, BCY Party national president Bode Ramachandra Yadav alleged that both the previous BRS government led by K. Chandrashekar Rao and the present Congress government led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had failed to deliver justice to Dalits.
He demanded that the Congress government immediately fulfil the promises made to the people during the elections. Social justice, equal opportunities and constitutional rights should not remain mere election slogans, he said.
Yadav asserted that the movement would continue until every promise mentioned in the Chevella Declaration was implemented in full.
Teegala Ashok Kumar, who led the Maha Dharna, said the primary objective of the movement was to bring all 59 Scheduled Caste communities in Telangana onto a common platform. Delaying the implementation of the promises, he said, amounted to injustice to the Bahujan community.
He stated that the community would continue its struggle through peaceful and constitutional means to secure its rights.
Bairi Venkatesham, national president of the 57 MB SC Caste Rights Struggle Committee, urged the Congress government to honour its electoral commitments. He demanded that the 12 points of the Chevella Declaration be immediately implemented through government orders and that adequate funds be allocated for the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Major Demands
The protesters demanded:
- Increase SC reservations to 18 per cent.
- Issue caste certificates through Tahsildars.
- Provide reservations for SCs and STs in the private sector and government contracts.
- Provide ₹12 lakh financial assistance to every SC/ST family under the Ambedkar Abhayahastam scheme.
- Construct permanent houses at a cost of ₹6 lakh for every homeless family.
- Restore assigned lands or provide compensation as per the Land Acquisition Act.
- Effectively implement the Forest Rights Act and issue pattas for podu lands.
- Establish separate corporations for the Mala, Madiga and 57 sub-castes, allocating ₹700 crore to each corporation.
- Establish residential schools and gurukuls in every mandal.
- Provide educational incentives to students under the Vidya Jyothula scheme.
- Fully implement foreign education assistance and fee reimbursement schemes.
Several leaders participated in the Maha Dharna, including Professor Suraj Mandal, senior journalist Pasam Yadagiri, Bairi Venkatesham, Upade Sanadhan, Pottapinjar Ramesh, Bommera Srinivas Madiga, Rayila Lakshmi Narsayya Chindu, Manchala Linga Swamy, Mala Praja Front leader Chinna Swamy Mashti, and Dalit movement leader JB Raju, among others.
The speakers called upon the community to unite and fight for its rights, stating that “rights will not be given for free; they have to be secured through collective struggle.”
The organisers warned that if the government failed to respond immediately and implement the promises of the Chevella Declaration, the movement would be intensified across Telangana.
