Addressing the well-attended rally in the state capital, Savitri Bai Phule announced that she was willing to face any action from the party leadership but her fight will continue. MP Chhote Kharwar also wrote to PM complaining against Yogi Adityanath for his attitude towards issues related to Dalits. A report, for Different Truths.
BJP seems to be in serious crisis, prompting party national president Amit Shah to visit the state and interact with state BJP leaders and ministers. The defeat in the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha by-elections has already shocked BJP central leadership.
The formation of SP-BSP alliance is being perceived as a major threat to BJP coming back to power. Under these circumstance reports of Modi not contesting from Varanasi are gaining ground.
At a time when PM Modi is playing an aggressive Dalit card, backward class MPs of the party have raised a banner of revolt against Modi and Yogi. BJP Dalit MP Savitri Bai Phule organised an impressive rally named “Samvidhan Bachao Arakhshan Bachao”. Phule launched a frontal attack on the Modi and Yogi governments for playing with sensitive issues like the Constitution and reservation. She was also very critical of the Yogi government on the issue of Dali atrocities and blamed it for inaction.
Addressing the well-attended rally in the state capital, Savitri Bai Phule announced that she was willing to face any action from the party leadership but her fight will continue. MP Chhote Kharwar also wrote to PM complaining against Yogi Adityanath for his attitude towards issues related to Dalits. Similar complaints were made by Dalit MP Ashok Dohre. Dalit BJP MPs Yashwant Singh and Udit Raj also questioned the Yogi government on the atrocities against Dalits and the attitude of Yogi towards MPs belonging to the community.
If all this was not enough, a large number of Dalits were beaten up, especially by state police during the Bharat bandh on April 2 to protest against the Supreme Court order diluting the SC and ST Act. The manner in which the statues of Dr. BR Ambedkar were damaged in different places also provoked the Dalits to come out on the street against the Yogi government.
The BJP government on Monday installed a statue of B.R. Ambedkar in a Budaun village painted saffron instead of blue. The statue was earlier vandalised in the presence of government officials. The statue has since been painted back in blue by the Dalit activists.
The Dalit anger has also provided ammunition to the opposition to launch a concerted attack on the Yogi government. Former Chief Minister and BSP national president Mayawati has launched a sharp attack on BJP and Modi government and the Yogi government for diluting SC and ST Act. She also blamed the central and state governments for targeted attacks on Dalits.
Former CM and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav is also attacking the Modi and Yogi governments for the increase in Dalit atrocities and ignoring the voice raised by Dalit MPs of the party.
So much so there was a division in Ambedkar Mahasabha over the issue of honouring CM Yogi Adityanath, with a majority of members expressing their reservation on the move. The situation is so divisive in the state that even the senior BJP leaders of the state are not sure how the Dalit supporters of the party will react in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav has announced his determination to continue with the SP-BSP unity and this has been reciprocated by the BSP leader Mayawati and even the Congress President Rahul Gandhi has talked of total opposition unity. So there is panic in the saffron camp.
Pradeep Kapoor
©IPA Service
Photo from the Internet
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