Social Welfare Minister Merugu Nagarjuna has announced that the State government has urged the Justice Balakrishnan Commission to address the issue of including Dalit Christians in the Scheduled Castes (SC) category. Dalit Christians have been facing challenging living conditions despite their conversion to Christianity, he said.
Speaking at a press conference held at the Secretariat on Tuesday, Minister Nagarjuna said that the Justice Balakrishnan Commission acknowledged and praised the various schemes implemented for the development of SCs in the State.
A two-member commission, led by Justice KG Balakrishnan, visited the State on Tuesday and conducted an inquiry at the State Secretariat regarding the conferment of SC status to Dalit Christians.
Minister Nagarjuna appealed to the Commission to uphold the SC status for Dalit Christians. He highlighted the commitment of the Andhra Pradesh government, under the leadership of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, to the welfare of SCs in the State.
Nagarjuna said that over the past five years, a total of Rs 57,828 crore was disbursed to 1,23,11,910 SC beneficiaries through initiatives such as ‘Navaratnalu’ and other schemes. He reported that Rs 62,270 crore was allocated for SC welfare through the SC Sub Plan (SC Component) during the same period. The Minister recalled that the Central government had earlier acknowledged Andhra Pradesh as the leading State in the country for providing assistance to SC families through the SC sub-plan, awarding the maximum post-matric scholarships to SC students, and extending financial aid to numerous SC women’s groups. He urged the Commission to consider the precedent set by other states, where SCs who converted to Sikhism and Buddhism retained their SC status after changing their religion. Nagarjuna emphasised the need for a similar approach, advocating for Dalits who converted to Christianity.
Drawing attention to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s commitment to SC development, Nagarjuna highlighted that on March 24, 2023, a resolution was passed in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly urging the Central government to recognise Christians who were once SCs as continuing to belong to the SC category.
Nagarjuna informed that a comprehensive report on the welfare programmes for SC development in the State was submitted to the Balakrishnan Commission. Following a thorough examination of the report by Justice Balakrishnan, commission members Dr Ravindra Kumar Jain and Prof. Sushma Yadav commended the initiatives for SC development in Andhra Pradesh.
