Visakhapatnam: Dalit union pours out their woes before FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Visakhapatnam: Visakha District Dalit Unity Forum (VDDUF) members met Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman here on Sunday and submitted a memorandum on various Dalit issues, including privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP).

VDDUF convener B Venkata Rao explained the problems to the finance minister on privatisation of VSP, reservations for SCs and STs in Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in Andhra Pradesh and requested Nirmala to resume the National Scheduled Caste Finance Development Corporation (NSFDC) in the state. Venkata Rao said if the VSP was handed over to the private sector, thousands of displaced families would get wiped out as they would not get employment opportunities in future.

He informed that the quota for SCs and STs in Andhra Pradesh Township and Infrastructure Development Corporation (APTIDCO) was not being implemented.

The loans for SCs and STs in partnership with the Union government sponsored NSFDC were suspended by the state government from 2019. He appealed to the finance minister to resume NSFDC in the state. Meanwhile, displaced families of VSP members explained their issues to her.

VDDUF leaders K Venkata Ramana, SR Vemana, S Sudhakar, I Sujatha, B Krishna Rao, Ch Rambabu and others submitted representation to the Union Minister.