Cuddapah, Aug. 27: Congress Legislature Party leader Y S Rajasekhar Reddy has held the officials squarely responsible for the growing atrocities on Dalits and other weaker sections across the State.

Addressing an all-party dharna in front of the Collectorate here on Monday, the CLP leader said the lethargic attitutde of officials has only compounded the miseries of the oppressed classes of the society. He said officials have been reduced to a mere puppet in the hands of the ruling party leaders. Stating that Congress had joined the stir along with the Left parties to highlight the plight of Dalits, he said the ostracisation of Dalit families in Timmaiahgaripalle in Chitveli mandal of Cuddapah district was highly condemnable.

Leaders from Congress, CPI and CPI-M, Janata Dal and Bahujan Samaj Party participated in the dharna which lasted for over three hours. Rajasekhar Reddy used the occasion to lash out at the officials for their alleged bias attitude towards the weaker sections. He said the officials were clinging to the apron of the ruling party leaders to appease their leader and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. They had given up public service to take up services to the Telugu Desam leaders, he alleged. He pointed out that Dalits were attacked in at least 29 places across the State while as many as 17 Congress functionaries were done to death in the aftermath of the recent local bodies elections. The suppressed sections of the society had lost security ever since the Telugu Desam came to power in 1983 in the State, he said and accused the ruling party workers of resorting to "revenge politics" against Congress and other Opposition sympathisers.

Coming down heavily on the district officials for failure to act even after two years of the social boycott of the Dalit families of Timmaiahgaripalle village in the district, the CLP leader said this only indicated that the former were mere pawns in the hands of the TD leaders.

He said the State Home Minister had assured action against the culprits after the issue was raised on the floor of the Assembly, but nothing had been done to bring back the Dalits to their homes in the village so far .