The attempted suicide by three men on July 22 is yet another twist in the Dali agitation in Una town in Gujarat, which flared up after seven members of the community were thrashed and humiliated for skinning a dead cow on July 11.
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After his interaction, Kejriwal hit out at the Anandiben Patel-led Gujarat government, accusing it of anti-Dalit propaganda and alleging that the incident had the consent of the State administration.
He added, “Gujarat government is anti-Dalit”.
“By meeting the murder accused, Kejriwal has proved that he does not have any concern for Dalits or constable Amreliya who sacrificed his life in the line of duty”, he said.
In the last two days, 10 dalit youths from various places have tried to kill themselves to register their protest.
Four Dalit youths were stripped above the waist and beaten mercilessly with iron rods in a village by a cow protection group for skinning a dead cow.
The issue has gathered a political steam with the proposed visit of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to Una tomorrow and on Friday, respectively.
“We have found out that this inhuman incident of beating Dalit youths was not one off. From last many months these particular community members have become target of these cow protection groups”, Parmar said.
Urging the government to take action in Gujarat, she said, “I want to tell the central government that this matter is serious and it is the responsibility of the central government that they have a government in the state as well and they should ensure justice”. The Marxist leader also said that the Gujarat incident has exposed “carefully-constructed Dalit prem” of BJP-RSS combine. Incidentally, BJP had formed government under Keshubhai Patel there in 1995 and ruled for most of the period till 2001 when Modi took over.
“Atrocities against Dalits is a social evil”.
Condemning the attacks, he said Gujarat Police acted swiftly and nine people have been arrested so far.
Ashutosh also questioned Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement in Parliament yesterday in response to the Una incident. “Why did the police not stop them?” he asked. Dalit children studying in Class 5 and above will be enrolled in government model schools for free. “It hints that the government was involved”, Kejriwal said.
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“This agitation that has started in Gujarat will have implications for the larger effort by the BJP at the national level to try to reach out to the less privileged sections of society”, Dr Sandeep Shastri, pro vice-chancellor of Jain University in Bangalore, said.
