Reservation in pvt sector need of the hour, says IPS officer-turned-politician Praveen Kumar

R.S. Praveen Kumar, who quit IPS last month, formally joined the BSP in Telangana on Sunday

Nalgonda (Telangana):Former IPS officer R.S. Praveen Kumar, who quit the elite service last month, formally joined the Bahujan Samaj Party on Sunday. Kumar, who is credited with giving wings to the dreams of several children from the marginalised sections of the society, in his maiden speech as a politician at a 'Rajyadhikara Sankalpa Sabha' public meeting in Nalgonda, pressed for reservation in the private sector too. "The SCs, STs and several other backward classes have been subjected to decades of injustice," he said, adding it was time they were brought on par with the general category.

Kumar, who has a good following among the Dalit youth, was critical of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao's endorsement on setting aside Rs 1,000 crore on the 'Dalit Bandhu' scheme under which each Dalit beneficiary family is entitled to get Rs 10 lakh.

"Whose money is this," he questioned. If the chief minister loves Dalits, he should sell his assets and spend the money on their welfare, Kumar said, adding that the money which KCR claims to be spending on the scheme was given by Dalits and tribals through irrigation.

"Today is truly a BIG DAY in my life as I am going to join Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with the blessings of Behenji Kum. Mayawati and National Coordinator Sri. Ramji Gautham. Please bless me, stand by my side and guide me all through in this exciting journey ahead (sic)," Praveen Kumar tweeted earlier in the day.

BSP will form the government in Telangana in the 2023 Assembly elections in the State, Rajya Sabha member and national coordinator of the party Ramji Gautam said. "No one can stop 'Bahujan Rajyam' in Telangana. This is a wave of change," he said.