Dalits have not got their proper share of progress and there are many things that they are yet to attain, he added. Out of the 403 Vidhan Sabha seats in UP, 84 are reserved for the Dalits who also form almost 19 per cent of the vote – a decisive share of the pie in the state politics.
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Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, saying that she did nothing for the Dalits in Uttar Pradesh. “I have met Dalit youth and they say Maywati does not share power with fellow Dalits and are disillusioned with her” said Gandhi.
Gandhi said the Dalit community in Uttar Pradesh is of the view that their plight would drastically change if the Congress Party joins hands with them.
” Dalit youth and leaders are questioning Mayawati’s approach, “he said and asserted that Congress will be in power in UP after the next elections”.
Wooing Dalits, the Congress recently concluded its second phase of Bhim Jyoti Yatras aimed at correcting its image among Dalits and “clearing misgivings” about Ambedkar’s relation with the party.
He alleged the BSP chief, in fact, “crushed and suppressed” emerging Dalit leadership.
BSP’s emergence on the Uttar Pradesh’s political landscape led to gradual erosion of the solid Dalit vote base of the Congress, which it is trying to regain.
He said that Congress will encourage dalit leadership in all the states. He was supressed by the government and forced to commit suicide. “An RSS man is heading the institution there and Rohith’s voice was not heard”.
Recalling his recent visit to Hyderabad after Vemula’s suicide, Rahul said, “Rohith was killed by the government of India”. The former CM said the Congress and BJP have been opposed to the welfare of poor, Dalits, OBCs and Muslims.
“Look at the list of VCs of central universities right now, all of them are RSS people”, said Rahul. “Congress is fighting with RSS and it will not let it succeed in its designs”, Rahul said.
Mr Gandhi claimed that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in a meeting with him praised MGNREGA scheme, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised it in Parliament.
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He also alleged that BJP and RSS were trying to impose their ideology on the education system, too.
