*Tribals unsafe under Coalition rule: YSRCP*

Tadepalli, July 10,: YSRCP ST Cell Plain Area President Gunda Surendra strongly condemned the coalition government for failing to protect the dignity, safety and livelihood of tribals in Andhra Pradesh. Addressing the media at the party central office in Tadepalli, he said attacks on tribal women, political victimisation, job removals and harassment have increased sharply after the coalition came to power.

Surendra said the government, which must protect tribal rights and employment, is shielding offenders and denying justice to victims. Referring to incidents in Kavali, Allur, Paderu and Salur, he said the coalition government has completely failed tribal women. During YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s tenure, tribal welfare was given priority and a tribal woman was made Nellore Mayor as a mark of political empowerment. But today, in the same district, even when a tribal woman was stripped and assaulted in public at Kacherimetta Street in Kavali, the government showed no seriousness and allowed the main offender to escape with an ordinary case.

He said a tribal woman working as a computer operator in Allur Nagar Panchayat since 2016 was removed from service only because her husband supported YSRCP. Forcing her to divorce her husband if she wanted her job back is inhuman and exposes the government’s political vendetta. While claiming lack of funds to remove tribal employees, the government is spending crores on publicity, he said.

Surendra also criticised Tribal Welfare Minister Sandhya Rani for having no grip over her department. He cited the appointment of an ineligible APO in Paderu ITDA and the political action against a PVTG woman principal in Salur, who was kept away from duties and even placed under house confinement. He warned that people will teach this anti-tribal government a fitting lesson.