Only Congress can protect interests of SCs, STS, says minister J D Seelam

Union Minister of State for Finance J D Seelam said here today that only the Congress could protect interests of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in the country.

He told reporters here today on the sidelines of the Congress party's 'Dalit, Girijan Chaitanya Yatra' that the Congress had launched many welfare schemes in the interest of Dalits and tribals in the country.

He explained that the AP state government had drafted the 'SC and ST Sub Plan' for the proper implementation of welfare schemes and utilisation of funds allocated to these communities.

Alleging that the BJP never favoured tribals or Dalits, he said that Narendra Modi's aim is to suppress the downtrodden and support business interests. He also attacked both the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the YSR Congress for their anti-poor policies.