Dr.Thomas (Special Correspondent)
I
t was our government that helped Sevalal Mutt,it was our government that celebrated Sevalal Jayanti,it was our government that converted Tandas into revenue villages
Education makes us independent and frees us from exploitation,said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
He was speaking after inaugurating the Banjara Bhawan built as part of the association’s Golden Jubilee celebrations,organized by Karnataka Pradesh Banjara (Lambani) Seva Sangh in collaboration with Karnataka Tanda Development Corporation.
For thousands of years,we were all deprived of literacy culture.After the arrival of the British,educational opportunities opened up.
Because of Dr.BR Ambedkar,education became a basic right for all the deprived.This is why we all need to be educated.Education makes us self-respecting.If you have self-respect,you can escape from exploitation,he said.
The Chief Minister gave a list of the contributions made by the Congress government for the development of the Banjara community,said that it was our government which provided assistance to Sevalal Mutt.
Our government celebrated Sevalal Jayanti,it was our government that converted Tandas into revenue villages.
He promised that 5 thousand more Tandas will be converted into revenue villages.
We wrote the foreword for converting Tandas as revenue villages.But BJP is claiming that they did our work.He quipped that the state of BJP is like the old saying that “Attikkidavaringinta Bottikkidavaru Melu”.
275 crore was given in the budget for the development of Banjara community.He assured that he will give money for other demands including Sevalal residential school in a phased manner in the coming days.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar inaugurated the programme.Deputy Speaker of Legislative Assembly, Rudrappa Manappa Lamani unveiled the statue of Sewalal.Banjara Handicraft Exhibition was inaugurated by Social Welfare Minister Dr.H.C Mahadevappa.
MLC Prakash Rathod,MLAs,Nemiraja Naik,Avinash Jadhav, Banjara Seva Sangh’s General Secretary H.B.Siddya Naik,Ex- MLA,B.T.LalithaNayak,CM’s Political Secretary Govidaraju and others were present.
