In his strongest denouncement of violence against Dalits in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that those indulging in atrocities against Dalits should first attack him. “If you have to attack, attack me, but stop attacking my Dalit bretheren… Goli chalana hai to muhjpe chalaiye, mere Dalit bhaiyon pe mat chalaiye,” he said while addressing a meeting of the BJP workers at lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad.
Modi’s comments came at a time when Dalits are on the warpath in Gujarat following the flogging of four Dalit youths which triggered severe Opposition assault on him and the BJP.
Earlier in the day, the PM took on cow vigilantes at a mammoth public meeting at Komati Banda near Gajwel in Medak district in Telangana after laying the foundation stones for a raft of development projects. “I want to tell everybody beware of these fake cow protectors. These handful of vigilantes have nothing to do with cow protection, but want to create tanaav (tension) and takrav (conflict) in the society,” Modi said.
“In the name of cow protection, these fake cow protectors are trying to disturb the peace and harmony of the nation. I want the real cow protectors to expose them (fake ones) and the State Govern-ments should take stringent action against them,” he added.
Terming the continuing caste discrimination as a matter of shame, Modi said in an emotional appeal, "We are the people who talk about Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (world is one family) and if we cannot embrace our Dalit brothers and sisters, world will not forgive us."
He asked people to protect and respect Dalits who have for long been neglected by the society. Deprecating those who try to make political currency out of such issues, the PM said attempts to politicise issues would only aggravate the problem. He cautioned, "Those who want to solve this social problem, I request them to leave politics that divides the society. Divisive politics will not do any good to the country."
"Shanti, ekta, sadbhavana (peace, unity and harmony) are central to the progress of the nation," he added.
lashing out at the Opposition parties for treating Dalits as a vote bank, Modi said, "Some people who think they control Dalit votes could not digest people getting to know about BJP's good work." He said that Dalits were being attacked to weaken the NDA.
Modi listed out various pro-Dalit measures of his Government. He pointed out that the Government had purchased the house where Dalit icon Dr BR Ambedkar had stayed in london.
Calling for a "saffron revolution" in the country, the PM said, "This revolution is about solar energy, 24/7 energy." Modi told the BJP workers from all over Telangana that he was running the Government as per the wishes of the people of India. "125 crore people are the high command of this Government," he said.
Pointing out that while India became free on August 15, Hyderabad was liberated 13 months later, Modi exhorted party workers in Telengana to organise a Tiranga Yatra on two-wheelers across the State from August 15 to September 17.
He predicted a bright future for the BJP in Telangana. Underlining that the party had lakhs of workers in the State, Modi expressed hope that the Telangana will achieve faster progress with the BJP.
Modi's choice of Hyderabad to denounce the attacks on Dalits seems significant as his Government had come under Opposition fire following the suicide by Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula in the city that had triggered campus unrest in several parts of the country.