Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday made a fervent pitch to woo Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes in the State by highlighting the efforts made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre for their welfare.
At a convention organised by the BJP’s SC Morcha in Thiruvananthapuram, Mr. Shah said the Narendra Modi government at the Centre firmly believed the nation could not prosper without uplifting the SCs, the STs and other marginalised communities. The Congress and the Communist governments had treated such sections as mere vote bank, he said.
Seeking to position the party as the rightful heir to the legacy of B.R. Ambedkar, the Union Minister also recounted the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s decision to posthumously confer him with the Bharat Ratna, observe a ‘Samajik Nyaya Saptah’ (social justice week), and develop five places in the country as ‘Panch Theerth’ in his honour.
In what is viewed as part of the party’s aggressive pan-India campaign to consolidate the votes of backward communities in the run-up to the general elections in 2024, the BJP brought the representatives of 13 backward community organisations on a common platform. Dalit social worker M.K. Kunjol, who was presented the Padma Shri award in 2020, was among the attendees.
Expressing confidence that the “lotus will bloom” in Kerala, Mr. Shah said the Congress was gradually losing its strongholds in the country, while Communism had lost much of its relevance globally.
He also charged the BJP’s rivals with ignoring the plight of underprivileged sections. “The Congress which ruled for 60 years and the communists who were in power for eight years have never worked for the welfare of Dalits, Adivasis and backward communities. Such parties, which claim to be the champions of the rights of such sections, must come clean about their contributions,” the Union Minister said.
Stressing on the BJP’s decisions to nominate Ram Nath Kovind and Droupadi Murmu, hailing from SC and tribal communities, as Presidents, Mr. Shah elaborated on the welfare schemes implemented by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government for SCs, STs and Other Backward Classes.
He also projected the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution and the surgical strikes carried out in Pakistan in 2016 as part of the Centre’s efforts to ensure national security.
BJP State president K. Surendran presided over the function. National vice president A.P. Abdullakutty, national executive members C.P. Radhakrishnan, Kummanam Rajasekharan, P.K. Krishnadas, George Kurian, and Janadhipathya Rashtriya Sabha leader C.K. Janu were present.
