A Rajasthan Congress MLA on Monday sent his resignation to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, saying he did not have the right to stay as an MLA if he cannot protect the rights of his community. The development came two days after the death of a Dalit boy who was allegedly beaten by a schoolteacher in Jalore for touching a drinking water pot.
“When we fail to protect the rights of our community…we have no right to remain on the post. After listening to my inner voice, I resign from the post of the MLA so that I can serve the community without any position,” Pana Chand Meghwal, the MLA from Baran-Atru constituency, said.
Meghwal said though the country is celebrating 76th Independence day, atrocities on Dalits and the other deprived classes continue. “I am hurt looking at the atrocities. I cannot express my pain in words, the way my community is being tortured,” he said.
“Dalits are being killed for drinking water from a pot, sporting a moustache or riding a mare during a wedding.
“The judicial process is stalled and case files are passed from one table to the other. Cases of atrocities against Dalits are on the rise in the last few years. It seems there is no one to protect the rights of Dalits... Many times, I have raised such cases in the Assembly but no action was taken by the police,” Meghwal rued.