Dalits had denied killing the animal, contending that they only skinned a dead cow.
Advertisement
Union home minister, Rajnath Singh, confirmed on Tuesday that nine suspects involved in the attacks on Dalits in Una, Gujarat have been arrested and four police official involved have been suspended.
“(He shouts at mere cough and cold of others, but keeps mum for long when the poor and Dalits are beaten up. are the incidents taking place at his instigation)”, Lalu said in a tweet.
He further took on Gujarat government stating that the administration did not act at time because it was hinted from “above”.
The Dalit outburst now is not just a response to Una, that is the trigger of course, but a reaction to suppression and victimisation according to activists working on humanitarian issues in Gujarat.
Subodh Parmar, one of the members of the fact-finding team, claims that the Una incident is not the only atrocity against Dalits by people linked to cow protection.
Earlier Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawarchand Gehlot said that despite provision in the law and constant efforts by the Government, violence on Dalits is not stopping.
The BJP government is scrambling to contain the political fallout in Gujarat, which is holding a state election next year.
Opposition lawmakers disrupted Parliament yesterday to protest against the floggings in Gujarat and demanded Mr Modi apologise to the victims. Our data shows that between 2001 and 2016, many incidents of Dalit atrocities have been reported. He said, the matter has been handed over to the CID for thorough investigation.
The Congress members were not satisfied with the Home Minister’s reply and staged a walkout.
However, the meeting evoked strong reaction from BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the House, watching quietly. Since there was no response from the government, the Congress members walked out.
“I am not talking about atrocities against Dalits in Haryana. It would have been nice if they themselves would have filed an FIR (first information report) against him”, Mayawati said.
He appealed to the leaders of all opposition parties to accept it as a “challenge and unite” against such menace.
“This (Una thrashing) is not a lone incident; there are many such incidents happening in the State”. “This is a social problem”.
Advertisement
“When I talk to businessmen here, they say they get phone calls that if you do this you will be killed”, he said, adding that government is “spreading fear by scaring and beating people using its police”.
