Congress president Rahul Gandhi has slammed the RSS and the BJP for the plight of Dalits and said he saluted “brothers and sisters” from the community who have hit the streets to demand protection of their rights from the Modi Government.
The party held the Central Government responsible for the loss of life and damage to properties during violent protests by Dalit outfits against the alleged dilution of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and accused the Centre of taking the issue “lightly”.
Rahul’s comments came as several Dalit organisations called for a nation-wide shutdown against the dilution of arrest provisions under the SC/ST Atrocities Act by the Supreme Court. “It is in the DNA of the RSS/BJP to keep Dalits at the lowest level in Indian society. Any one who challenges this thought is crushed with violence. Our Dalit brothers and sisters are today on the streets demanding protection of their rights from the Modi Government. We salute them,” he said on Twitter.
The Opposition alleged that the Narendra Modi dispensation was not interested in the welfare of Dalits and weaker sections of society. Senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi alleged that atrocities on Dalits and minorities have been on the rise ever since the NDA came to power in 2014.
Azad, the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, said that had the Government taken adequate steps to ensure that the SC/ST Act was not weakened or diluted, today’s nationwide bandh could have been avoided.
“I charge the central government, and not the Supreme Court, that this law was weakened and diluted because the central government did not represent the case properly before the court,” Azad said.
If the attorney general or additional attorney general had appeared before the court, the Supreme Court might not have taken the decision, he said.
Azad termed ‘Bharat Bandh’ as a success against “the Government’s failure and weakness”. Both Azad and Kharge also regretted the loss of life and damage to properties during the bandh, saying the Congress never supports any violence.
“The Central Government is responsible for this loss in the country. If Government had taken steps after March 20 when we gave them a memorandum to file a review petition, there would have been no loss of life and property in the country. I hold the central government responsible for the loss of life and property,” Azad said.