DH News Service

Vijayawada, July 3: Dalit Bahujan Force has called upon people not to exercise their franchise in favour of the ruling Telugu Desam, Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress in the ZPTC and MPTC elections scheduled to be held in July and August as those parties were dominated by landlords of the forward castes.

In a statement here on Tuesday, DBF State convenor V Krishna Swaroop said the TD-BJP combine was resorting to implementing "anti-people" policies and suspending the welfare programmes meant for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Backward Classes. Alleging that the TD and BJP musclemen were attacking and terrorising the SC and ST candidates in the panchayat elections, Krishna Swaroop asked the Bahujans to support independent candidates whose credentials are clean. Police are supporting the goons and are illegally registering cases against the Dalits, he lamented.

Referring to the burning alive of Vijayamma and her grand daughter at Eragampet village under Vidyapuram mandal in East Godavari district, the DBF president alleged that the landlords who were accused in the case were not arrested so far.

Taking exception to the role of police, Krishna Swaroop demanded that the State government take stringent action against the culprits. Complaining that the atmosphere was not good for the Dalits to vote freely, he alleged that the followers of the TD were obstructing and terrorising the Dalits.

He appealed to the State Election Commission to set up special polling booths to the Dalits to exercise their franchise freely. In some villages, the landlords were dictating terms to the weaker sections to whom they should vote, he said and added that in some places they are threatening the cand

He alleged that the police have become the tools in the hands of ruling party and are not taking action against the TD goons who were resorting to killings.

Referring to privatisation process, the DBF leader said the policies of the NDA and TD government were keeping the Dalits away from employment and welfare schemes. He criticised the State government for diverting the SC, ST and BC Corporations funds worth Rs 6,000 crore.