Hyderabad, April 14 (IANS) Telangana Chief Minister, A. Revanth Reddy, on Tuesday slammed the BJP for what he called hatching conspiracies to do injustice to Southern states in delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies and called for a movement for increasing the seats on a pro-rata basis.

Addressing the birth anniversary celebrations of Dr B.R. Ambedkar on Tuesday, he reiterated that the BJP is engaging in conspiracies regarding the delimitation of constituencies to do injustice to Southern states.

“Under the pretext of increasing seats based on a 50 per cent criterion, they are attempting to reduce the seat quota allocated to the Southern states. We must wage a struggle to ensure that the number of seats in the Southern states is increased on a pro-rata basis,” he said

Revanth Reddy declared that his government will always be at the forefront of any noble cause.

He said that delimitation on a 50 per cent criterion will result in an injustice to women, as well as to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), in the Southern states.

“Are those serving as Union Ministers truly unaware of this simple calculation,” he asked.

Stating that the government belongs to the people, he said the responsibility to safeguard it rests with them.

Revanth Reddy paid rich tributes to Babasaheb Ambedkar and said his role in steering the nation onto the path of progress is just as significant as that of Mahatma Gandhi. He termed them two eyes of this nation.

“While Mahatma Gandhi proved that a war could be won peacefully without shedding a single drop of blood, Babasaheb Ambedkar demonstrated that a nation could be governed in a manner that serves as a model for the entire world,” he said.

The Chief Minister said Ambedkar firmly believed that education alone holds the power to transform lives. Ambedkar’s philosophy itself constitutes the very essence of democratic governance.

He stated that it was through the provisions of Article 3 that Congress senior leader Sonia Gandhi facilitated the formation of the state of Telangana. He said marginalised and weaker sections of society played a pivotal role in the Telangana movement.

He also recalled the role played by revolutionary balladeer Gaddar in the Telangana movement. “If anyone imagines that the role played by Gaddar — who, through his songs, galvanized the movement to unprecedented heights — will ever be forgotten, they are merely deceiving themselves,” he said.

He claimed that the people-centric government has accorded the highest priority to Dalits.

Apparently targeting former Chief Minister and BRS President K. Chandrasekhar Rao, he remarked that since a Dalit son is serving as the Speaker, they are insulting him by refusing to attend the Assembly.

“Shouldn’t Dalit sons and daughters hold positions such as Finance Minister or Health Minister? It is this people-centric government that has brought about a situation where those who once insulted Dalits now have to ask a Dalit for the microphone. We are giving priority to Dalits and Adivasis in every sector.”

He claimed that the government is establishing ‘Young India Integrated Schools’ with the aim of eliminating caste-based disparities.

“We are upholding the ideals of Dr. Ambedkar, who envisioned that education should be accessible to the poor. We are introducing ‘Telangana Public Schools’ with the objective of providing quality education,” he said.

–IANS

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