Assembly polls: Rahul Gandhi to conduct Dalit conclaves, PM Modi to reach out through kisan rallies

With elections in five assemblies take centre stage and the polls in largest state Uttar Pradesh (UP) just a year away, the ruling BJP and main Opposition Congress are competing to reach out to Dalits, weaker sections and rural India.

Cashing on the suicide of Hyderabad's Dalit student Rohith Vemula Congress has planned 'Dalit conclaves' to channelise this anger against the BJP and Central governments all across country. To counter the move, Central government is also going all out to focus on rural India and acquire a pro-poor image in the forthcoming Union Budget by refurbishing both the food security law as well as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Also in the pipeline is to increase the number of fellowships for SC/ST students to undertake higher education, under the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship from 2,667 to 5,000. Social justice ministry is also keen to launch a campaign to dispel the perception that the government was anti-Dalit.

To reap political harvest from the suicide of Rohith Vemula, the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will preside a 'public hearing' of Dalit activists, students and professors next month to formalise an action plan. "It will be a sort of public hearing to understand the extent of discrimination in our colleges and universities. We will then formulate a strategy to deal with this problem," said K Raju, chairman of the AICC's department for Scheduled Castes.

He said Rahul Gandhi is giving top priority to issues like equality and justice and he has taken Dalit issues seriously. The party has appointed 30 coordinators for the conclaves. The first 'Dalit conclave' is planned in Punjab on February 15 and 16, followed by another in Lucknow on February 19 and third in Bhopal on February 26. Based on the response the party gets in these conclaves, Rahul has suggested to organise similar conclaves of Dalits in March and April in all five states of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry going to polls in the near future. A big event is planned in Lucknow on April 14 (Ambedkar's birth anniversary).

Rahul has told party functionaries to formalise plans not only for Dalits but for other poor and weaker sections as well, which he believes are suffering under Modi government. "Farmers are unhappy, committing suicides, labourers are crying and even small businessmen are upset at bleak future," he told PCC chiefs at a recent meeting. Rahul has also told them to prepare presentations on how Modi, the BJP chief ministers and RSS were disturbing and bypassing the laws like NREGA and Forest Rights Act and demolishing all programmes made by the Congress for the poor.

Not to be left behind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ordered focusing on rural schemes. In a clear attempt to acquire a pro-poor image dented by taunts of the "suit boot ki sarkar," the PM wants to extend implementation of the food security law to cover not less than 70 crore people in 27 states and union territories as against 33 crore people covered in 11 states by the Congress-led UPA in 2014 when the Act was implemented.

This will be the third flagship programme of the previous Congress-led UPA government that Modi is adopting after the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and AAdhaar-based direct benefit transfers (DBTs). He wants his government take credit for making these programmes too work better by jacking up the expenditure on them in the current fiscal and double the budget on the food security in the next financial year. All three programmes are aimed at basically helping the rural poor.

In an attempt to jack up the BJP's pro-farmer image, Modi is also set to address a score of "Kisan rallies" across the country, the first four this month in Madhya Pradesh on February 18, in Odisha on February 21, in Karnataka on February 27, and in Uttar Pradesh on February 28. Officials said the Prime Minister is taking personal interest as he visualised a big scope in the food security law for ending hunger and ensuring every citizen has two meals a day to make it as a law for the poor's entitlement. The ministry is ready with a plan to increase the number of ration shops through which the Act will be implemented from 70,000 to 5.52 lakh by March 2017 and all will be electronically linked to authenticate the beneficiaries and keep tag of the quantum of food grains distributed to them. Under the Act, the beneficiaries get wheat at Rs 2 per kg, rice at Rs 3 per kg and coarse grains at Re 1 per kg.

Further, after showing disdain towards the UPA's flagship MGNREGA and describing it a monumental failure, it is also being overhauled to get Prime Minister Modi's imprints. According to a senior government official, the government plans to not only ensure better implementation of the Act, but also "widen" its scope by incorporating work related to cleanliness, skill development and organic farming. At present, the scheme covers mostly digging ponds, making culverts and rural infrastructure. From this year, the Ministry of Rural Development plans to build individual household toilets and Anganwadi buildings. The Ministry also intends to build 5 lakh farm ponds and 10 lakh vermicompost pits, with a view to encouraging organic farming. In a major departure, the Ministry will also utilise funds for imparting skills to workers.