Dalitha Vimukthi seeks land rights, protection of reservations at rally

Members of Dalitha Vimukthi organised a rally and a public meeting in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, demanding an end to privatisation, protection of reservations, and land rights for Dalits and the poor.

The rally began after participants paid floral tributes to the statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar near Daba Gardens. It proceeded via the RTC Complex and Asilmetta to the Mahatma Gandhi statue near the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation office.

Land illegally occupied

Speakers alleged that thousands of acres of land in the State remained under the illegal occupation of land grabbers in violation of land ceiling laws, while large extents of government land remained unused. They said the promise of distributing three acres of cultivable land to landless Dalit families had not been fulfilled anywhere in the State and demanded its immediate implementation.

The organisation criticised the privatisation of public sector undertakings, including the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, alleging that it had reduced employment opportunities for youth and transferred public assets to corporate entities.

The leaders also demanded Scheduled Caste status for Dalit Christians, an end to discrimination against those who had embraced other religions, and the withdrawal of the 1950 Presidential Order, which they alleged discriminated on religious grounds.

A cultural troupe presented revolutionary songs during the programme, while participants raised slogans calling for the strengthening of the anti-caste movement and the implementation of Dr. Ambedkar’s ideals.