Senior leader from Telangana alleges he quit BJP as leaders like Amit Shah shun Dalits

A Chandra Sekhar, a prominent Dalit leader and former Telangana minister who recently quit the BJP, alleged that Union Minister Amit Shah once refused to accept a shawl from him because of his caste. Criticising the BJP at a public gathering on Monday, August 28, Chandra Sekhar alleged that the BJP's practice of ‘untouchability’ policies forced him to leave the party. He also said that Union Minister Amit Shah’s announcement to remove the Muslim quota in Telangana deeply affected him and made him consider leaving the party.

Speaking about an alleged incident that happened when Amit Shah visited Chevella for a public meeting on April 23, Chandra Sekhar said, “I purchased a fine shawl to felicitate Amit Shah. But because I am a Dalit, he wouldn't accept it. This indicates that untouchability continues to exist in the BJP today. In the same gathering, Amit Shah declared that if the BJP wins the election, they would eliminate the Muslim quota. Poor students will lose out on opportunities as a result of this. I decided to leave the party for these two reasons.”

Chandra Sekhar quit the BJP recently on August 13. In his resignation to Telangana state BJP president G Kishan Reddy, Chandra Sekhar had alleged that the party did not support those who put in a lot of effort for the organisation. Additionally, he had said that the BJP at the Union government was unable to take on the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government.

Chandra Sekhar earlier served as an MLA from Vikarabad constituency for five times from 1985 to 2008. He was elected on Telugu Desam Party (TDP) ticket for four consecutive terms. He later joined TRS (now BRS) and won the election in 2004. He also served as a minister in the Congress-led coalition government in united Andhra Pradesh. He later joined the BJP in 2021. Recently, he quit the BJP and joined Congress.