Countering the remarks made against the Congress government by TDP legislator Rama Rao in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly today, Minister for Animal Husbandry P Viswarupu said it was his government which had established the Nodal Agency for SC, ST Community. Making a clarification to the TDP member’s remarks during the discussion on the the demands for grants for 2012-13, he said the Congress government was instrumental to enhance the monthly pension to physically challenged persons from Rs 50 (during TDP’s regime) to Rs 500 now.
The Minister said under the Indira Jala Prabha programme, irrigation water was provided to ten lakh acres and advised the TDP MLA not to confine to political speech. Mr Rama Rao said it was the late former Chief Minister N T Rama Rao and the present TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu who had introduced 33 per cent reservation to women and his party had made Dalit leader G M C Balayogi as the Lok Sabha Speaker.
He said banks were not giving loans to the SC and ST community and they were also not getting any monetary concessions through SC, ST corporations. Though the state government boasted that it had introduced number of schemes to the poor, the onus lied on the government that it ensure that the schemes were implemented effectively.
To this, the Minister once again intervened and said it was the UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi who had made Meira Kumar, a dalit leader, as Lok Sabha Speaker. The party was always positive towards dalits and hence Damodar Sanjiviah was made Chief Minister of the state in 1970, Koneru Ranga Rao and Damodar Rajanarasimha as the Deputy Chief Ministers. Congress legislator Shajahan Basha said the Congress government had taken up the housing programme to construct 59.46 lakh houses for the poor under Indiramma Housing scheme and so far 34 lakh houses were completed. He said of those, as many as 17,659 houses were allotted to Minorities and 8,039 houses had been completed so far. Stating that the Congress government had taken up the housing programme with clarity basis, Mr Basha said scholarships and tuition fee reimbursement were provided by the state government to nearly 25 lakh students in the state. Deputy Speaker Mallu Batti Vikramarka later adjourned the House to meet again tomorrow. UNI