‘If alive, Ambedkar would have been with BJP’

LUCKNOW: Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Schedule Caste Finance and Development Corporation Lalji Prasad Nirmal said here on Friday that had Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar been alive today, he would have been with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Nirmal, who is also president of Ambedkar Mahasabha, had earlier bestowed title of ‘Dalito Ke Ram’ on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pra- desh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

“In the past, no government has done so much for dalits. The centre has provided Rs 138 crore in the ongoing financial year for various schemes dedicated to dalits,” Nirmal told newsmen while listing schemes rolled out by the central and Yogi governments for dalits. Lauding the pro-dalit policies of the central and state governments, Nirmal said: “Babsaheb would have been with the BJP today if he were alive.” Nirmal pointed out that the Uttar Pra- desh Scheduled Caste Finance and Development Corporation had provided financial assistance of Rs 14.47 crore to 12,280 dalit families. “The commission has selected 72,202 dalit families across the state for financial assistance,” said Nirmal.

On the issue of rehabilitation of manual scavengers, Nirmal said the state government had rehabilitated 10,847 manual scavengers. All of them had been given Rs 40,000 each, he added.

It may be pointed out that the Yogi government has provided Rs 10 lakh each to kin of those who had died cleaning sewers (manholes). “The state government has identified 71 such cases after 1993 in which 49 people had died. All of them have been provided financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh each,” said Nirmal.

Lalji Prasad Nirmal informed that the centre had issued an advertisement for 9,000 petrol pumps for Scheduled Caste people. Earlier, the centre had also issued an advertisement for 3000 LPG tankers for SC category people.