Prime focus on addressing issues of SC/ST people in Kerala, says Kelu

Newly appointed Minister O.R. Kelu prioritizes addressing issues of marginalized communities, focusing on SC/ST development in Kerala.

O.R. Kelu, the newly designated Minister for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development, has said that he will give prime focus to addressing the issues of the marginalised sections, especially the tribal communities, in the State.

Speaking to The Hindu on Thursday, Mr. Kelu said that though only 12 months remained in the this LDF government’s term, developmental activities and welfare schemes for the SC/ST communities would be completed and grants for SC/ST students disbursed in a time-bound manner. “Human-wildlife conflict is one of the major issues faced by the public in Wayanad and steps will be adopted to address it,” the Minister said.

Mr. Kelu, 54, belongs to the Kurichya community, an ST community engaged in farming, and hails from Olencherry, near Kattikulam, in Wayanad. After completing his secondary school education, Mr. Kelu began to work in an estate near his house. He entered active politics in 2000 after being elected as a ward member of the Thirunelly grama panchayat, one of the largest tribes-populated civic bodies in the State. Later, he became the president of the civic body.

While Mr. Kelu was the member of the Mananthavady block panchayat, he was elected as a member of the Assembly from the Mananthavady constituency in 2016. He defeated former Tribal Minister P.K. Jayalakshmi by a margin of 1,307 votes. Mr. Kelu defeated her again in the 2021 election, this time by 9,282 votes.

Mr. Kelu is the first CPI(M) Minister from the Scheduled Tribe community in the State. He is a State committee member of the CPI(M) and president of the Adivasi Kshema Samithi, a tribal feeder organisation of the party. His wife is Santha and two daughters are Mithuna and Bhavana.