Congress questions BJP over alleged atrocities on Dalits, weaker sections in Gujarat

New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday blamed the PM Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre and the BJP government in Gujarat over the alleged atrocities being committed on Dalits and weaker sections in Gujarat.

Congress MLA from Gujarat Jignesh Mevani, while addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters Indira Bhawan here, said that BJP-RSS people, including prime minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah, do not believe in Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution, rather they believe in the values of Manusmriti.

Atrocities against Dalit community

Mevani reminded that the RSS-BJP leaders have said on record to ‘Throw Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution into the sea’ as they did not want the Constitution of India, but the Manusmriti. He said, Manusmriti runs in the veins of the BJP-RSS leaders.

As a result of this thinking, he pointed out, copies of the Constitution were burnt on the streets of Delhi, Rohit Vemula was forced to commit suicide, the family of Hathras rape victim was not allowed to see her one last time and Dalit youths were brutally beaten in Una, Gujarat. He also referred to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s derogatory remarks about Dr Ambedkar in the parliament.

Recent crimes

Referring to several incidents in Gujarat, the Congress leader said that a 19-year-old Dalit youth was publicly murdered in Amreli, and a Dalit elder was burnt alive in Patan. AK-47 bullets were fired at Dalit boys who were going to file a complaint of atrocities in Surendranagar district. He also exposed the horrifying case of gang-rape of a Dalit girl for 11 days in Santrampur district, in which three BJP leaders were involved.

He revealed how the first FIR that included the name of BJP leaders was torn up by the police sub-inspector and the ASI, along with the pages of the station diary and the guilty police personnel were let off with a fine of only Rs. 3,000.

Mevani also cited the very low rate of conviction of the guilty in cases of atrocities on Dalits and tribals. He said that at the national level, this figure is 30-35 per cent, while in Gujarat, it is only three to five per cent, which means that 95 per cent of the criminals get away.