Use Constitutional rights for an equal society, HCM tells marginalised communities

MARGINALISED communities living in helpless conditions without means of livelihood and treated as second-class citizens must utilise the opportunities enshrined in the Constitution to move towards an equal society, Social Welfare Minister Dr H C Mahadevappa has said.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Mysuru

Inaugurating the state-level convention and union elections of the Karnataka Jeeta Daalu and Agricultural Labourers' Union at Kalamandira on Sunday, Mahadevappa quoted Ambedkar and said the bonded labour system was part of untouchability and caste discrimination, and a clear violation of human rights.

"Earlier, India had no bonded labour system. It was seen in countries like China, Russia, and some in Europe. In India, unpaid loans forced labourers to work for life, and the practice passed down generations," he said.