“This is the disgusting face of BJP’s hatred towards tribals and Dalits,” said Rahul Gandhi. (File)
New Delhi:
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday that atrocities against tribes and Dalits are on the rise under BJP rule as he denounced an incident in Madhya Pradesh in which a man, said to be a BJP leader, was seen urinating on a tribe.
The former congress chief said the real face of BJP’s hatred towards tribes and Dalits was exposed with the “inhumane act”. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also denounced the BJP for the incident, saying that “the inhumane and disgusting act of a person close to a BJP MLA towards a youthful tribe in Madhya Pradesh is extremely shameful.” During the 18 years of BJP rule in the state, 30,400 cases of atrocities against tribes have emerged. real steps to stop atrocities against tribes?” said Priyanka Gandhi.
A video of a man, reportedly a local BJP leader from Madhya Pradesh, showing him urinating on a tribesman in the Sidhi district of the state recently went viral on social media, prompting calls for his arrest from different angles.
He was detained on Wednesday after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called for the immediate arrest of the man, who has since been identified as Pravesh Shukla.
“Atrocities against tribal brothers and sisters are on the rise under BJP rule. All humanity has been shamed by the inhumane crime of a BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh,” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.
“This is the disgusting face and real character of BJP’s hatred towards tribals and Dalits,” he said.
MP Home Secretary Narottam Mishra said the man’s act was “heinous, reprehensible and a blot on humanity”. Asked about Congress’s demand for a “bulldozer action” against the accused, Narottam Mishra, who is also the state government’s spokesman, told PTI: “Bulldozer action is not taken at the request of Congress…a bulldozer is only used if there is an encroachment.” Earlier in the day, Narottam Mishra told reporters that the suspect was arrested because he spoke of a “bulldozer” operation without naming names.
The term became popular after the Yogi Adityanath-led government of Uttar Pradesh bulldozed several properties belonging to alleged criminals.
On Tuesday, an official from the MP Chief Minister’s Office said a case had been registered against Shukla under Indian Penal Code Sections 294 (obscene acts), 504 (deliberate insult to provoke breach of peace) and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The harsh National Security Act has also been invoked against him, he added.
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