VIJAYAWADA: Ministers Karumuri Nageswara Rao and Meruga Nagarjuna, chairperson of the Telugu and Sanskrit Academy Lakshmi Parvathi and others hailed Mahatma Jyotirao Phule as a top social reformer who fought against caste discrimination and sought equal opportunities to all.
Marking Jyotirao Phule's death anniversary, leading figures garlanded his statue at the YSR Congress central office in Tadepalli on Tuesday. Also present were the government whip in the legislative council Lella Appi Reddy and others.
Minister Nageswara Rao said Jyotirao Phule was a warrior who fought for the rights of the poor and the weaker sections. “The support of BC castes for social reformation in AP is possible only under the leadership of chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The CM provided corporation positions caste-wise to the BCs, he said.
He pointed out that Chandrababu Naidu insulted the leaders of the BC unions through his words and deeds. “CM Jagan has achieved social empowerment that Jyotirao Phule campaigned for,” he stated.
Minister Meruga Nagarjuna said Jyotirao Phule has given courage to the downtrodden sections of the society. In the past, poor and weaker sections had to face a lot of difficulties for studies and faced discrimination on the basis of caste, he said.
He said the SC, ST, BC and minority leaders are touring the state in the name of a Social Empowerment Yatra and they are getting huge responses from the ordinary masses. He criticised Naidu for undermining SC, ST, BC and minorities during his administration.
Telugu and Sanskrit academy chairperson Nandamuri Lakshmi Parvathi, government whip Lella Appireddy, APCO chairman Ganji Chiranjeevi, SC corporation chairman Kommuri Kanaka Rao and many others paid tributes to the statue of Phule and addressed the gathering.
