There have been protests across Gujarat ever since.
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Enraged by the dastardly acts of the right-wing hooligans, masquerading as protectors of cows, the community at large has been staging state-wide protests in Gujarat.
Azad said the government is angering around 20 per cent minorities and 23-25 per cent dalits in the country. Successive governments have made efforts to help them, such as by setting aside places in universities and jobs in government for Dalits. Those who are weak and powerless have no voice in Modiji’s Gujarat. “We talk about Taliban… our caste system has a Taliban-like attitude, we need to discuss that”, Yadav said. Congress member Ahmed Patel said the situation in Gujarat was “explosive”.
K Suresh (Congress), who raised the issue during the Zero Hour, demanded setting up of a joint Parliamentary committee to go into the incident.
Cow vigilante groups have become increasingly active in many parts of India after the Hindu nationalist party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power two years ago. “Such superstitions are being spread in this country”, he said.
“Why is the police not taking action?”
The Congress vice president who was accompanied by State Congress in-charge, Gurudas Kamat, Dalit leader Kumari Selja and state party president Bharat Patel, also called on Dalit youth who had attempted suicide and were convalescing in hospital. We will know in few months time if the prime minister is able to wield his personal charisma in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab to replicate the successes of 2014 Lok Sabha elections. “The BJP has always divided the society and ruled”, he said.
“He said the centre should not have “arrogance” of having absolute majority” and steps should be taken to reach out to people. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is also expected to visit the Dalits on Friday. After last year’s Patels’ bloody agitation, the state, often projected by Modi and his party, the BJP, as the model for development, is now facing unprecedented protests by Dalits.
In his concluding remarks, Rajnath also conceded that that conviction rate in crimes against Dalits is less and needs to be corrected.
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He suggested creation of fast track courts to take up cases relating to atrocities against dalits.
