The Congress in Uttarakhand has alleged that the Dalit Sammelan congregations planned by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the State is more of a political charade in pursuance of the party’s electoral agenda to purportedly misguide the Dalit community. Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president Jot Singh Bisht said this while addressing the media at the Congress Bhawan here on Thursday.
Bisht averred that the Congress is the only political party which had been an advocate of according equal status to members of all sections of the society, including the Dalit and backward segments of society. He claimed, “Before the nation became Independent and after Independence the Congress struggled against social evils like caste discrimination, In addition to this, Congress Governments also introduced various schemes and programmes to facilitate economic empowerment of the exploited Dalit community. It is do to such welfare measures taken by the Congress party leaders that even seven decades after the nation became independent, members of the Dalit community find themselves more secure with the Congress.”
He also alleged that the BJP had always fostered an “anti-Dalit” mentality with not one but many examples of such detrimental works. “Neither during the pre-independence era nor after the nation gained independence did the BJP ever raise its voice even once against untouchability. Similarly, the BJP never even undertook any campaign related to this issue. The BJP’s ideological parent organisation, the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh has till date not made any Dalit a Sarsanghchalak (head) of the RSS organisation. The BJP did make Bangaru laxman its national president but the manner in which he had to make an exit is known to all. In Uttarakhand too, the BJP-led Union Government is acting unjustly by holding back the Rs 750 crore budget allocation for provision of scholarships to dalit students. There are various such examples of the anti-dalit mentality of BJP. However, in order to secure election to office, the BJP is loudly beating its drum of concern for the Dalit community. In its three-year budget the BJP-led union government has given nothing for the welfare of the dalit community in Uttarakhand.
Now, the BJP is working on its scheme to appease the dalits with an eye on electoral gains,” averred the PCC vice president.