Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Telangana President RS Praveen Kumar slammed the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on Wednesday, 26 October, in a tweet for allegedly "damaging the self-esteem of Yadavas" by serving them food on carton straps.
Kumar shared a video which he claimed to be from Golla-Kuruma Atmeeya Sammelan organised by the TRS in Manneguda on Wednesday, 26 October ahead of the Munugode assembly bypolls scheduled for 3 November. In the 26-second video clip shared by the BSP leader, people can be seen eating food served on carton straps.
The Quint, however, has not independently verified the authenticity of the video.
The video was shared by other users too, criticising the TRS for indulging in casteism.
Meeting Attended by KTR
The TRS event in Manneguda was attended by Telangana ministers KT Rama Rao, T Harish Rao, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, and Rajya Sabha MP Badulgula Lingaiah Yadav.
Gollas and Kurumas, whose traditional occupation is animal herding, are part of the backward class list in the Telangana state
The TRS Facebook page quoted KTR as saying at the event, "Before Telangana came, only two lakh twenty one thousand members were members of the sheep keepers society. Today that number has increased to 7,61,000. KCR started the sheep distribution program with the intention of giving life to the caste professions in rural areas and to enrich the rural economy."
The TRS has fielded Koosukuntla Prabhakar Reddy as its candidate in the Munugode bypoll while the BSP has given ticket to Andoju Shankara Chary. The other candidates in the fray are Congress' Palvai Sravanthi and Bharatiya Janata Party's Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy. The voting will take place on 3 November and the votes will be counted on 6 November.
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