Dalit activists question KCR’s silence on Pranay’s murder, accuse him of being casteist

The accused, Maruthi Rao who plotted the killing of Pranay is reportedly a member of Telangana Rashtra Samithi.
Dalit activists question KCR’s silence on Pranay’s murder, accuse him of being casteist
Dalit activists question KCR’s silence on Pranay’s murder, accuse him of being casteist

It has been four days since the murder of Pranay Perumalla, a 24-year-old Dalit man was hacked to death in Telangana’s Nalgonda district. He was murdered for marrying Amrutha, a caste Hindu. The caste killing plotted by Amrutha’s father and uncle has sparked wide outrage across the state. But four days on, caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has remained silent on the caste killing despite thousands expressing shock, and anger at the horrific and brazen crime.

Amrutha’s father T Maruthi Rao named as the prime accused in the crime for plotting the murder is reportedly a TRS member and his party membership is yet to be revoked. Accusing the CM of being casteist, Sujatha Surepally, convenor of Bahujana Prathighatana Vedika said, “The least he could have done is expel him from party. He is a casteist.”

She also went on to allege, “The accused has close links with TRS leaders. He is a close aide of Minister Jagadish Reddy, yet the party hasn’t come out in the open condemning the incident, neither have they publicly stated that his membership has been revoked. Is this the Bangaru Telangana TRS promises to give us?”

Expressing her angst, she said that the CM has time to pay respects to actor Nandamuri Harikrishna who recently died in an accident, but can’t take out time to express condolence or personally visit the victim’s family.

Another Bahujan academician, Professor Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd who visited Muthireddy Kunta to extend his solidarity to Amrutha said that except for senior Congress leader Jana Reddy, nobody came to offer their condolences or extend solidarity.

He told TNM, “The accused is a member of KCR’s party, shouldn’t the party cut off their relation in the open?”

He alleged, “Under KCR’s regime the caste violence against Dalits has swelled in Telangana. Why wouldn’t it? Most of the accused are from his party.”

Kancha Ilaiah also said, “My demand is that she should be elected unopposed from Miryalaguda constituency. The CPI (M) has already offered her the ticket.” He also urged the government to bring in a law named after Amrutha to encourage inter-caste marriages. “We will make it a political issue and demand a statue for Pranay at Tank Bund and Miryalaguda,” he said.

Condemning the incident, Telangana Jana Samithi President, Professor Kodandram slammed the government for their inaction. “The government has an obligation to implement the Constitution, not doing so is illegal. The victim is giving the names of politicians who have threatened the couple and the government has not taken any action so far. In the past few weeks, the government has been proactive in taking action against politicians bringing back old cases, an ex MLC has been arrested. In this particular instance, the government is backing the culprits, backing those who are taking part in the uncivil act,” said Professor Kodandram.

“It's important to remember that this is not the first time such an incident has happened in Telangana, there have been 4-5 cases in the past. In none of these instances, the government has taken any action. On the contrary, the ruling party in power has shielded and guarded their interest had the government taken action these issues would not have perpetuated,” he alleged. 

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