The AAP national convener also met Kanti Mulji Vala, accused of killing a police constable, who is also being treated at the Rajkot civil hospital.
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As the news of the suicide attempt spread, hundreds of Dalits gathered at the hospital to show solidarity with the cause, Kumari said.
“One farmer whose cow was killed had called this family (Dalits who were beaten up in Una last week) to dispose of the dead cow”.
Lok Sabha Wednesday saw uproar over thrashing of some dalits by some people in Gujarat, with Congress accusing BJP and RSS of working for “dalit-mukt Bharat”, evoking a sharp reaction from government which cited figures of atrocities faced by dalits during Congress rule.
A rally of over 6,000 Dalits was also taken out in Vadnagar, home town of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They were dragged and paraded in the streets before being taken to a police station. According to the team, the vigilantes display their bravado by making a particular Dalit community a “soft target”. We have to fight against it together.
On Tuesday, Gujarat’s top elected official, Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, promised that her government would take strict action against those involved in the attack.
Responding to the Opposition’s charges, Singh said the NDA Government will not tolerate any physical violence or verbal abuse against Dalits and pointed out that the Gujarat Government has ordered a time-bound investigation and the Centre has asked it to approach Gujarat High Court seeking special court for the trial of this case. “Moreover, the state government has suspended four police personnel, including an inspector, and also initiated disciplinary action for negligence of duty”, Singh said amid repeated protests from opposition members, including Congress floor leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Bhagwant Mann of the Aam Aadmi Party.
“I met the victims”. What wrong have they done? It’s a job that they have been doing for so long. It’s what their ancestors did.
Expressing dissatisfaction with his reply, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said whenever they raised an issue and sought the government’s response, it would recount the history of 65-70 years.
Four Dalit youths were stripped above the waist and beaten mercilessly with iron rods in Mota Samadhiya village by a cow protection group for skinning a dead cow. The activists allegedly used casteist abuses while flogging the youths though the four victims pleaded that they were only skinning dead cattle.
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“Even the Chief Minister visited the victims as late as ten days after the incident”, he pointed out, adding that the violent protests across the state were further maligning the image of Gujarat.
