Dalits'support important for Congress: Chidambaram
August 1st, 2010
PTI
Chidambaram, Congress, Dalit Union home minister P. Chidambaram on
Sunday said the Congress cannot emerge as a principal party without
support of the Dalits in the country and said whenever it was without
major Dalit leaders, atrocities against the community had raised its
head.
"We all want the Congress to become a principal party in India,
especially Tamil Nadu. But that cannot be achieved without the support
of Dalits," he said at a function here to mark the joining of expelled
BSP leader K. Selvam and his supporters in the Congress.
Dalits constituted a major share in the population and if they were
rejected and their rights denied, there was no point in India being an
independent nation, he said.
"Whenever the Congress digressed from focusing on Dalit issues or when
Dalit leaders left the party, atrocities against Dalits had raised its
head. This is a fact. To make India powerful and prosperous, we need
Dalits' support," he said.
Saying that the likes of Dalit icons such as Babasaheb Ambedkar and
Babu Jagjivan Ram could bring in changes since they were in the
Congress, Mr Chidambaram exhorted members of the community to join the
party and become leaders.
He recalled that Mahatma Gandhi had focused on Dalit issues and their
aspirations as part of his freedom struggle. "We accepted that
struggle but not today's armed struggle by Naxals," he said.
In its long history, veteran leader P. Kakkan was the first Dalit
leader to become TNCC president, later followed by others like
Maragatham Chandrasekhar, Mr Chidambaram said adding that a member of
the community could lead the congressmen in the future too in Tamil
Nadu.
Underlining the UPA's commitment towards Dalits' welfare, he said over
Rs 2,000 crore had been allotted for the students of the community for
their educational needs, including those pursuing M. Phil and PhD.
Speaking at the birth centenary celebrations of Kakkan in Madurai on
Saturday night, Mr Chidambaram denounced honour killings and
discrimination against Dalits, saying such things brought disrepute to
the country.
"Such (honour) killings only brought disgrace and disrepute to the
country. In some places parents removed their children from schools if
the mid-day meal is cooked by Dalits," he said.
He referred to the recent incident in Uttar Pradesh where parents
removed their children from schools where the mid-day meals were
cooked by Dalits. The country's economic growth rate of 9 per cent or
Forex reserve of $300 billion would serve no purpose if atrocities
like untouchability continued in India, he said.
"India will get real independence only if social evils are eradicated
from the heart," he said.
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