Dalit Mahasabha Launches “Navya Andhra Party” to Counter Caste Problem in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh based Dalit Mahasabha which led struggles against caste atrocities for the last three decades has launched a political outfit - Navya Andhra Party. Dalit Poet Katti Padma Rao, its founder chief said that the party will get registered with the election commission after they convene a political meet with its members on November 11, 12 in Ponnur, Guntur District. To counter the ‘Hindu Rastra’ politics of ruling Telugu Desam Party, the Navya Andhra Party is all set for a political battle in the coming 2019 general elections mainly aiming to serve the interests of Dalits, Tribals and Minorities in the state.

Newsclick spoke to Katti Padma Rao where he detailed the main agendas of his party

Alliance with Left Parties

Dalit Mahasabha has always led combined struggles with left parties in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. Padma Rao said that his party is already in talks with the left parties like CPI (M) and CPI in the state and will contest the coming elections in an alliance. He also said that if the main opposition- YSR Congress Party agrees with their agenda, their party would even consider joining hands with them.

Inter-Caste marriages

Condemning “Love Jihad” as a Hindu propaganda, Padma Rao said that the Inter-Caste marriages are one way to reduce the caste-based inequalities as pointed out by Dr B.R. Ambedkar and demanded the state government to consider providing financial assistance to the poor families among them.

Caste Dominance

He said that most of the political power within the state is vested in the hands of legislators belonging to Kamma and Kapu castes, thereby furthering the interests of people from there castes. Taking inspiration from the struggles led against Karamchedu and Tsunduru massacres, he said that their party will come forward with an alternative model to address the longstanding caste problem of Andhra Pradesh.

Land Distribution

He demanded the Andhra Pradesh government to immediately distribute land to the poor landless Dalits and tribals as they have promised before coming to power. For doing so, he said the state government has nearly one crore and 20 lakh acres of land including temple lands, non-irrigated non-forest land, and land left over after distribution under land reforms in its possession.

Pension Scheme

He said that while the state budget is more than 1.57 lakh crores for the year 2017-18 and the senior citizens in the state are paid only Rs 1000 per month as pension and demanded to increase it up to Rs. 5,000 which only costs a few crores to the state expenditure.

Primary Health Centres

Terming Primary Health Centres (PHCs) as the cornerstone for Rural Health Care, Padma Rao said that there is an immediate need for the improvement of conditions in PHCs in the state and urged the government to begin more centres in the remote areas.

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