RESERVATION in the private sector is a pre-requisite for rendering justice to dalit and tribal sections, Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch leader V Srinivasa Rao told a meeting in Vijayawada on March 24.

 Prior to the meeting, a huge rally was taken out by the Struggle Committee for Realisation of Reservation in Private Sector from Tummalapalli Kalashektram to Alankar Centre, demanding reservation for SCs and STs in the private sector, filling up of vacant posts and prevention of atrocities against members of the communities. Members of various organisations from 13 districts of the state participated in the rally and raised slogans against the BJP-TDP combine for their inefficiency in formulating proper guidelines for the implementation of SC, ST sub-plan.

Addressing the gathering, Srinivasa Rao, CPI(M) central secretariat member, said that development of SCs and STs can be made possible by providing reservation in the private sector. The NDA government is hatching a conspiracy to do away with reservation for the marginalised sections by trying to provide the same to other sections. Efforts are underway to usurp assigned lands from the poor and depressed sections and at the same time, giving lakhs of crores of rupees as concession to the rich and corporate sections. RSS is instigating other sections to demand reservations and the incidents in Gujarat and Haryana are striking examples of it, he said.

Sub-plan funds meant for dalit and tribal sections are being diverted. The central and state governments’ attempt to project as they being champions of depressed sections by showing allocations to schemes like MGNREGS is nothing but a sham, he said. Unemployment among SC/ST sections in the past five years has gone up substantially as employment opportunities in public sector is dwindling day-by-day, he said. Those who wanted ‘azadi’ from untouchability, discrimination and unemployment are being branded as “anti-nationals” by the Modi government at the Centre. Unless there is a big movement involving all progressive and marginalised sections, it will be difficult to achieve reservation in the private sector, the CPI(M) leader.

Dadaala Subbarao, convenor of the Struggle Committee, cautioned the marginalised sections about the illusions created by the Modi and Chandrababu governments that they are working for the advancement of these sections. He asserted that there is plenty of land available for distribution amongst dalit and tribal sections but the intention of the governments is to usurp land and not give it to these sections. There has to be sustained movement on the demand of providing reservation in the private sector till a law is enacted by the central and state governments.

P J Chandrasekhar, MLC and AITUC president, highlighted the fact that cent percent sanitation workers belong to dalit community and they are not even getting minimum wage despite the hullaballoo about ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign. J V Prabhakar lambasted the state government for its nonchalance to give even 60 yards of land to poor dalits while appropriating 60,000 acres to corporate sections without any hesitation. Dalit Bahujan Front state secretary Melam Bhagya Rao underlined the need to put an end to caste oppression in the society for progress of dalits and tribals.