Bandi Sanjay Kumar assures justice to nomadic tribes

Jangaon: A gross injustice is being done to the nomadic tribes, BJP State president Bandi Sanjay said.

Speaking to the representatives of nomadic groups on the 17th day of his Praja Sangrama Yatra at Chitta Kodur village in Jangaon district on Friday, he criticised the TRS Government for ignoring the plight of nomadic communities. "The nomadic groups were not covered under any government's welfare scheme. Unfortunately, they were included neither in the SCs or STs nor the Most Backward Classes (MBCs)," he said.

The nomadic groups like bead and bangle vendors have been leading a distressful life. Higher education to the children of nomadic groups is a myth as they even struggle to catch up on primary education, he said. KCR who promised to include nomadic tribes in the backward classes is yet to fulfill his promise, Sanjay reminded.

One of the nomadic group representatives said that they have been struggling for a living for over two centuries. "The British used to treat us like robbers and we are being looked down upon even now. Our fate has not changed even after the formation of Telangana. We have not been getting benefits of any schemes either from the state or from the Centre. We are moving from village to village selling bangles, beads and baskets," they said.

Sanjay said the total population of nomadic tribes in Telangana was around 30 lakh and in some states, these tribes were included in Scheduled Tribes. He reminded that in Uttar Pradesh, they were given a lot of financial support from the government and hence, they had campaigned and voted for the BJP in the last assembly elections there.

The BJP State chief told them that they could make a difference. The nomadic groups can pull down the KCR Government in Telangana, he said. "KCR had cheated various BC communities with false promises. KCR had promised to allocate Rs 1,000 crore to the MBC Corporation, but he had released only Rs 67 crore. He has not constructed 2.40 lakh houses sanctioned by the Modi Government to Telangana," he said. The BJP would resolve all the issues faced by the nomadic tribes if the BJP was voted to power, Sanjay asserted. OBC Morcha national president and Rajya Sabha member K Laxman was among others who accompanied Sanjay's padayatra.