Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has said that the Bharat Bandh, called by Dalit groups on April 2, has left the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) scared, alleging that the party is indulging in atrocities on members of the community.


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Mayawati alleged that many Dalit leaders and members of their families are being arrested by administrations in BJP-ruled states. She also targeted Dalit MPs hailing from the BJP saying members of the community would never forgive them.


Attacking the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre, Mayawati said, “Now things have come to such a phase that Dalits can’t even protest. Dalits are being targeted for protesting and video footage show authorities implicating them deliberately.”


Naming some BJP-ruled states, the former UP chief minister alleged that Dalits were being targeted in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. “When BSP comes to power in UP and MP, we will scrap all false cases on Dalits. All officers registering case against Dalits will be suspended when we come to power” she said.


Referring to the changes in the SC-ST prevention of atrocities act by the Supreme Court, the BSP chief blamed the BJP and the NDA government for “diluting” the act. “BJP is scared of Dalit outrage and now they have realised that power can go out of their hand,” she said.


Warning the BJP of the consequences that if they don’t stop playing with fire on the Dalit issue, they will meet the same fate that the Congress met with after proclamation of Emergency by then Indira Gandhi government in 1975. She also condemned incidents of vandalisation of statues of Dr BR Ambedkar.


Meanwhile, BJP MP Udit Raj also took to Twitter to allege that Dalits are being tortured at after the April 2 Bharat bandh. He said that people from Badmer, Jalore, Jaipur, Gwalior, Meerut, Bulanshahr, Karoli and other parts have called and informed him that police personnel are resorting to violence and slapping false cases on members of Dalit community.


The Bharat Bandh, called by Dalit groups on April 2, had led to loss of at least 10 lives. It came even as the central government filed a review petition in the top court.


The apex court had declined to stay its recent order on the SC/ST Act. On the other hand, the government maintained that it was not responsible for any dilution of the Act and said that it was fully committed to protecting the interests of the backward communities.


Speaking about the issue, PM Modi had said that no other government was as concerned about the backward classes as the incumbent government. BJP chief Amit Shah had also targeted Congress and other opposition parties, holding them responsible for the lives lost during Bharat bandh.