SPEECH

Address of the Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, at Dalit Adivasi Conference, 24, Akbar Road, New Delhi on 30, August, 2002
‘Justice to Dalits, Adivasis is Overdue’

I am very happy that our SC/ST Department has organized this conference. This conference was scheduled to take place on 30 January last year, the martyrdom-day of Gandhiji. It was postponed due to the earthquake in Gujarat. After this disaster, it has become necessary that we should all work for the relief of our Gujarat brothers and sisters, affected by the earthquake.

I am hopeful that in this conference you will discuss comprehensively all the problems of dalits and tribal people. You know that I pay special attention to the problems related to SC/ST. In our Panchmarhi Camp, AICC Sessions and meetings, whatever resolutions passed we not only discussed specially the problems of dalits and tribal people but also making efforts to implement them. You also know that in all the meetings of Congress chief ministers I have stressed that all the programmes related to SC/ST would get priority and they should be implemented properly.

Under the leadership of Gandhiji, the Congress struggled for freedom, alongwith that, it also fought against social discrimination and injustice. For Gandhiji a poor man was a ‘Daridra Narayan’. He (Gandhiji) wanted that basic facilities of life should reach the weakest and to the last person in society.

After Independence, all Congress Governments followed this tradition. In her programmes like 20-point programme, special component plan, and Tribal Sub-Plan, Indiraji took concrete steps to ameliorate the lot of brothers and sisters of dalit and tribal communities. When Indiraji nationalized the banks, the motive behind it was to help the weaker sections of society. Rajivji started a special recruitment drive and enacted a strong law against atrocities committed on dalits and tribal people. It is regrettable that now-a-days incidents of atrocities on dalits and tribal people are increasing. There is a need to frame a law to check them. Cases related to atrocities should be decided quickly and if there is a need special courts should be set up. All Congressmen, specially youths, and our frontal organisations should always remain in the forefront of the battle against atrocities. When, in the mind of younger generation a feeling against atrocities arises and it raises its voice, no one can suppress it.

Our great organisation, Indian National Congress is distinctly separate and above other parties because we have always helped the poor and the weak. The way we shall keep this spirit, will we grow accordingly. Before making any programme we have to think what benefit a poor man sitting away from the Capital will get. With this motive, Gandhiji had announced 16 years before Independence that :

"I will make an attempt to create such a constitution which will free India from all sorts of slavery... I will try to form such an India where there will be no discrimination between high and low sections of society and all communities shall live in harmony."

To translate his objective into reality, Gandhiji and Panditji got Dr. Ambedkar made President of the Constituent Assembly. Under the presidentship of Dr. Ambedkar, we got such a constitution by which we have faced all challenges.

The Congress Party has made continuous efforts for the uplift of the dalits and tribal people and pass the governance in their hands. Its fresh proofs are Rajivji’s new Panchayat Raj and amendments in the Party constitution. In spite of all this, I feel, we have to do a lot. There is a need to change the mental set-up of society, government and administration in regard to the poor. Until there is no pain for the poor in the hearts of the people who make programmes and implement them, programmes will remain buried in the files. That is why I ask all my party government in States to implement the programmes, they make honestly. I am happy that our State governments in comparison with others are functioning in a better way. But still there are shortcomings. In other States of the country, landless people owe land on paper but others are occupying them. So is the case with small forests produce at several places. Tribals working in forests, dalits and backward people should get their right on minor forest produce. Youths have fundamental right to get education and employment.

There appears to be some confusion in the minds of some people regarding reservation and other programmes. They feel as if there is an attempt to snatch away their rights. But the truth is that this is an attempt to give a chance to the suppressed and the backward to rise and give them their rights. It is our collective responsibility to remove this misunderstanding from society. The Congress made reservation as its principle and our governments implemented it honestly. In the last one decade, non-Congress government at the Centre have shown irresponsibility in regard to reservation. Some time ago, such government orders were issued which created a lot of difficulties to the dalits and tribals.

You would remember that the Congress Party had opposed it, raised the issue in Parliament and I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister asking him to withdraw that order. No proper solution has been found to this problem till now.

When we began liberalisation policy, our desire was that, through this, new opportunities for employment were generated. When the Congress encouraged the public sector, our aim was that weaker sections of society get more employment opportunities. Success was achieved to a great extent. Today, under the name of liberalisation, public sector is being finished, instead of giving jobs, lakhs of people are made jobless.

The fact is that the non-Congress government formed at the Centre had neither the desire or willingness to work for the welfare for the dalits, the tribals and the weaker sections of society, nor they have it today. The present Central government, led by BJP, is an arena of self-interests. They talk about the country and society to hoodwink the people. A man does good and solid job when in his heart there is a honest desire for it. BJP and its allies indulge in communal and caste politics in order to remain in the government. Maladministration and corruption is their religion. We all have to work and behave in such a manner that the public should feel the difference between the Congress and the other parties.

In future where elections are due, we should be successful as we have got success in fourteen States. But, till we get majority in the Centre, we cannot fully implement the programmes, which we have made for the country and society. The Centre has a big role to play in all-round development of the country and society. But, now the entire country knows that there is no hope of proper role from the present government at the Centre. The duty of the Congress Party is to help the people in miseries, share their grief, kindle the fire of justice and change and organize all of them for a new future. I am fully confident that we will be successful in our duty.