The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday slammed Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s ‘satyagraha’ — his fast to protest against atrocities on Dalits allegedly perpetrated under the Modi regime and the ‘dilution’ of the SC/ST Act. The centre of attack, though, remained the ‘chhole-bhature’ party of some Congress leaders just before the ‘symbolic fast’ of the day. Party spokesperson Sambit Patra quipped, saying Congress was not just hungry for chhole-bhature, but for power and called it a “joke on Dalits”.
Chiding the Congress for “politics of luxury”, Patra said, “This is politics of performance versus politics of luxury. You cannot wake up in morning, cannot skip even one meal, but you claim of bringing a big change... You have played a joke on the poor and Dalits while sitting in Raj Ghat,” he said.
Citing figures of anti-Dalit violence in five years of the Congress rule in the poll-bound Karnataka, he said the state had reported 9,080 cases crimes against the community and over 358 Dalits were killed. “Gandhi should tell them when he plans to sit on a fast against crimes against Dalits in Karnataka,” he asked.
Meanwhile, senior party leader and Dalit face of the party Dr Bizay Sonkar Shastri raked up the Congress’ alleged ill-treatment of Dalit icon Bhimrao Ambedkar and claimed that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had been working overtime to fulfil Ambedkar’s dreams.
“Fed up with the harassment by Nehru, Ambedkarji had resigned. Nehru went to lengths to oppose Ambedkar; Ambedkar even lost his deposit in the first Lok Sabha elections. Rahul is doing drama. Even Gandhiji will feel bad over this. This is not Dalit-love, rather it is slitting their throat with love.”
VOLLEY OF ATTACKS
- Patra said, ‘This is politics of performance versus politics of luxury’
- Cited party’s decision to keep Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler away as its ‘admission of guilt’
