Every public grievance will be followed up till resolution: Laxman Kumar

Scheduled Castes Development and Tribal Welfare Minister Adluri Laxman Kumar said that the State government was committed to taking governance closer to people and ensuring that they did not have to make repeated visits to government offices to get their problems resolved.

Participating in the face-to-face programme at Gandhi Bhavan on Wednesday, Mr. Laxman Kumar received representations, examined the issues and directed the departments concerned, officials and district administrations, to take appropriate action in accordance with the rules.

He said he would coordinate with the authorities concerned and review the progress made in addressing the grievances. “Issues concerning Scheduled Castes, tribals, persons with disabilities, senior citizens, transgender persons, the poor and other marginalised sections would be given priority,” he said.

‘No moral right’

Taking a dig at Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders’ criticism of house arrests to prevent them from visiting the newly-inaugurated TIMS hospital at Sanathnagar, Mr. Laxman Kumar said it was ‘shameful’ for them to raise the issue.

“Were Opposition leaders allowed to step out of their homes between 2014 and 2023?” he asked.

Recalling his own experience, the Minister said he was placed under house arrest in Dharmapuri when then Minister K.T. Rama Rao visited Sircilla.

“It is ironic that those who detained Opposition leaders are now speaking about house arrests,” he said, and alleged that the previous government had attempted to curb the voice of people, while the present Congress government was reaching out to people and directly listening to their grievances.

The Minister alleged that the BRS government had failed to provide adequate opportunities to people to directly present their grievances and get them addressed.