Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhara Rao are said to be facing severe opposition from Dalits in the rural areas following the high handed behaviour of the officials and the police.

First it was Garagaparru incident, in which Dalits were outcast by the upper caste Rajus over installation of Ambedkar statue in the village.

The Dalits were agitated with the government not paying any attention to the issue. It was only after all political parties raised hue and cry did the Naidu government got a couple of upper caste people arrested as an eye-wash measure.

Now in the latest episode, the irrigation department officials forcibly started constructing an irrigation tank in 22 acres of land belonging to 45 Dalit families at Devarapalli village of Parchur mandal in Prakasam district.

While the local Dalits claimed that it was their land for which pattas were given, the government officials argued that it was a poramboke land.

The issue got politicised with the involvement of local CPI-M and YSR Congress party leaders. Ultimately, it brought bad name to Naidu.

In Telangana, too, there has been simmering discontent over the killing of a few Dalits in accidents at Nerella mandal in Siricilla tow for questioning the illegal sand mafia by ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi leaders.

When agitated Dalits torched a couple of sand lorries, the police arrested several people and allegedly tortured them in custody. This has become a big issue and Dalit community is agitated over KCR’s attitude.

May be, Naidu and KCR might have to pay huge political price for harassing Dalits!