BRS leaders accuse Revanth Reddy of using Dalit Christians for political gains
BRS leader Mede Rajiv Sagar accused Revanth Reddy and the Congress of using Dalits and Dalit Christians for political gains and questioned the party's record on their demands.
Former Telangana Foods chairman Mede Rajiv Sagar, Jimmy Babu (right) and Bommera Ramurthy (left) address a media conference at BRS Bhavan in Hyderabad on Friday.
HYDERABAD: Former Telangana Foods chairman Mede Rajiv Sagar on Friday accused Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and the Congress of using Dalits and Dalit Christians as “pawns” for political purposes and alleged that the party was adopting double standards on issues concerning the community.
Addressing a media conference at BRS Bhavan, Sagar alleged that Dalit Christians had been brought into the political spotlight during the 2015 cash-for-vote controversy and were now being invoked again in political disputes.
The cash-for-vote case involved allegations that then TDP MLA Revanth Reddy attempted to bribe nominated Anglo-Indian MLA Elvis Stephenson during the 2015 MLC elections. The Enforcement Directorate later named Revanth Reddy, Bishop Harry Sebastian, Jerusalem Mattaiah and others in its investigation.
BRS questions Congress position
Sagar questioned whether using individuals such as Sebastian, Jerusalem Mattaiah and Sandra Venkata Veeraiah in the controversy, as alleged by the BRS, could be described as Dalit empowerment.
He also criticised Revanth Reddy over his earlier reported position on political reservation for the Anglo-Indian community and alleged that the Chief Minister’s political approach reflected a “feudal mindset”.
The BRS leader further accused the Congress of maintaining inconsistent positions on the rights of Dalit Christians.
SC status for Dalit Christians
Sagar referred to the recommendations of the Ranganath Misra Commission concerning Scheduled Caste status for Dalit converts to Christianity and Islam. The commission recommended removing the religious restriction in Paragraph 3 of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, to make SC status religion-neutral.
He alleged that the Congress-led UPA government did not implement the recommendation and contrasted this with the BRS government’s position in Telangana.
According to Sagar, former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao had moved a resolution in the Telangana Assembly supporting SC status for Dalit Christians. He also claimed that BRS representatives appeared before the Balakrishnan Commission and submitted a report supporting the demand.
Sagar said BRS representatives, including himself and RS Praveen Kumar, had also supported Dalit Christian protesters at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
BRS attacks Congress “double standards”
Sagar also questioned the Congress leadership’s response to controversial remarks concerning the Christian community and cited other instances involving alleged remarks against SC, ST and backward communities.
Speaking at the same conference, Jimmy Babu alleged that Dalit Christians were used during the cash-for-vote case and said those involved continued to face court and police proceedings while Revanth Reddy now holds political power.
Bommera Ramurthy questioned the Congress government’s implementation of the Chevella Declaration and highlighted initiatives associated with KCR, including the installation of the Ambedkar statue and naming of the Telangana Secretariat after BR Ambedkar.
Gaddam Salman Raju, Leo Lewis, Tandra Meghana and others attended the media conference.
