Year-long Constitution awareness campaign to begin on November 26

The Dalit Sangharsha Samithigala Aikya Horata Chalana Samithi, Bengaluru, in association with the Samvidhana Janandolana Samithi-Karnataka, will launch a year-long awareness campaign titled ‘Voice of Constitution, Voice of Public’ on November 26, as part of the State government’s Constitution Day celebrations.

Sharing details of the programme at a press conference here on Saturday, Samithi State Coordinator Indudhara Honnapur said the year-long Constitution awareness campaign would be formally launched at the KSOU Convocation Hall at 3 p.m. on November 26. The launch programme would follow the State government’s event to mark Constitution Day.

“There will be a government programme in the morning. We support it and will participate in it,” Mr. Honnapur said, adding that the Samithi had initially planned a two-day programme, but had subsequently decided to restrict it to one day.

Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will inaugurate the awareness campaign, while former Minister H.C. Mahadevappa will preside over the programme. Former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi will deliver a talk on the Constitution and Democratic Values. Writer Baragur Ramachandrappa will deliver the inaugural address.

The main focus of the year-long awareness campaign is to strengthen the AHINDA (an acronym for backward classes, minorities and Dalits). The campaign will include study camps, debates, discussions and seminars across all 31 districts in the State.

When asked why the Samithi was focusing on AHINDA despite a Dalit leader not being considered for the Chief Minister’s post when former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stepped down, its members said there were no differences of opinion within the organisation on the issue. They maintained that the Samithi was not a political platform and that the welfare of the community, particularly the AHINDA sections, remained its primary objective.

Mr. Honnapur demanded that the proposed delimitation exercise be dropped, arguing that it would be a disadvantage for southern States because of their relatively lower populations compared to northern States.

The Samithi accused the State government of allegedly diverting funds allocated under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) for implementing guarantee schemes. Mr. Honnapur alleged that funds earmarked for the welfare of Dalits were being diverted to other schemes and said that Dalit organisations would launch a campaign against the move.

The Samithi also urged the government to implement a single-window system for SCSP and TSP funds.