Congress responsible for plight of SCs: BJP

A BJP leader today said Congress was responsible for the plight of Scheduled Castes in the country and alleged that the party was using the community only for the sake of votes.
"Congress always used SCs for votes and is totally responsible for the plight of Scheduled Castes in the country," leader of BJP Legislature Party in Punjab Assembly Chuni Lal Bhagat said while addressing a function at R S Pura, 30 kms from here.
"Congress ruled the country for decades after independence and it always misled the people of SCs community on the name of welfare and upliftment," the Punjab Cabinet Minister said.

"In early 50s, reservation to this community was granted in the Constitution for ten years with the promise that during this period, the SCs will come at par with other upper caste communities, economically and otherwise also, but nothing changed due to unwillingness of the Congress-led government to implement the policies in letter and spirit," he said.
State President Jugal Kishore Sharma said majority of refugees from West Pakistan belong to SC community and claimed that their three generations have perished demanding grant of citizenship and other basic rights being enjoyed by other citizens of the country.
"The SCs are living in miserable conditions not only in rural areas but there still exist colonies of SCs in urban areas which lack basic amenities.

"Mere promises have been delivered to them, not only by Congress but by National Conference as well," National Executive Member and Jammu East MLA, Ashok Khajuria, said.