VIJAYAWADA: Former minister and Telugu Desam leader K.S. Jawahar alleged that Tadikonda MLA of the YSR Congress Dr Undavall Sridevi belonged to a Christian community and demanded that the Election Commission disqualify her for contesting the election as a SC woman.
Addressing a press meet in the State TD office at Guntur on Friday, Mr Jawahar said that Dr Sridevi herself admitted that she was a Christian but had cheated the public and EC by claiming that she was an SC woman and contested the election from Tadikonda MLA seat reserved for SCs. He claimed that Christians could not file SC/ST atrocity cases but Dr Sridevi had filed such a case against TD activists which was “totally false”. He stated that the Atrocities Act was meant for Dalits and condemned the misuse of the Act by Dr Sridevi. Mr Jawahar alleged that Dr Sridevi had cheated and deceived the constituents of Tadikonda.
Mr Jawahar said that there was a simple altercation between a father and his son during Vinayaka Chavithi festival but Dr Sridevi diverted the personal issue and turned it into a political issue (insult of a Dalit woman legislator). He explained that SCs who adopt Christianity lost the right to use the Act and therefore her complaint was bogus.
He said that the TD would fight against the false claim of Dr Sridevi as an SC woman and demanded that the EC immediately disqualify her. He demanded that the state government take the issue to the notice of the EC and conduct a byelection to Tadikonda (SC) Assembly seat and also withdraw atrocity cases registered against TD activists on the complaint of Dr Sridevi.
