Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has strongly condemned the incident in which a Dalit old man was forced to lick urine by an RSS functionary in Lucknow.
“The BJP and RSS only want Dalit votes but have no intention to defend them or give them safe space and due social ambience in society”, the three-timer ex-CM Gehlot said.
The Congress leader is a senior AICC polls observer for the Bihar Assembly elections and is currently touring the poll-bound state.
He quipped in a press note Tuesday night – “This (incident) has now made crystal clear that the psyche of the BJP and the RSS cadres is against Dalits. It also reveals the gravity of hatred they nurture within themselves against Dalit-weaker sections”.
Gehlot said that while the RSS calls itself the defender of Hindutva, Hindu communities and the Sanatan Dharma, it acts as perpetrators of atrocities and oppression on these communities. At many places, their workers treat Dalits, backward communities and tribals as adversaries.
If they truly have reverence for the Hindu faith, let them shun the caste based discrimination and untouchability, he added.
On frequent instances of atrocities against Dalits under the BJP rule, Gehlot said that whether it is a Dalit Chief Justice or an ordinary Dalit old man, no one is safe and secure under BJP governance. States ruled by the BJP are at the top in cases of atrocities against Dalits.
Notably, as per the NCRB report, the highest number of cases of atrocities against Dalits are registered in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh. In 2023, a total of 15,130 criminal cases against Dalits were recorded in Uttar Pradesh.
“Just a few days ago, one Hariom Valmiki was brutally murdered in Raebareli, a Dalit IPS officer of ADG rank died by suicide in BJP-ruled Haryana, amidst accusations of caste discrimination”, the Congress leader said.