Deccan Herald

Vijayawada, July 14: Bharatiya Depressed Classes League lambasted the State government for not filling the Scheduled Caste and Tribes backlog posts in the State.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the League State secretary G Abraham said about 60,000 posts of SC and ST were vacant in the State and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has no interest to fill them up. He alleged that all the welfare programmes were being given to Telugu Desam activists and funds sanctioned by the Centre for weaker sections were being diverted for other programmes.

Stating that the Telugu Desam workers who just had a cycle till recently were plying Maruti cars, he alleged that the Chief Minister had wasted Rs 40,000 crore in the name of Janma Bhoomi and nothing was done to the oppressed classes. He said Naidu spent crores of rupees on publicity as part of the programme. He said the Chief Minister promised to sanction Rs 50 crore to the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation and house-sites to the weaker sections before the municipal elections. But none of the promises were fulfilled, he said. On the industrial front, Abraham said the government closed 83 PSUs and other industries in the State and removed thousands of employees from their jobs. He said not a single new industry has come up in the State after Naidu took over and the government was planning to privatise Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation.

Alleging that the Chief Minister was cheating all the communities, the League secretary said Naidu suspended all the schemes which were announced before 1999 Assembly elections. He said the government was not releasing funds to the welfare schemes of Scheduled Castes which were allocated in the budget and about 55 per cent funds were not sanctioned in 1997-98 budget to the oppressed sections.

He said the Telugu Desam was trying to win the elections by distributing liquor and money and luring the voters by their caste.