Last Sunday, on a muggy afternoon, Udit Raj, who represents North-west Delhi in the Lok Sabha, made his way to Mohan Nagar, a bustling Ghaziabad suburb, to address a meeting of the All-India Confederation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Organisations (AICSO). The moment he arrived, the BJP MP, who is also the AICSO바카라s national chairperson, was greeted with angry slogans by a group of 10-odd young men in the crowd, asking him to quit the BJP. Later, they were escorted out of the venue when they tried to disrupt his speech.
The young men were voicing the growing disquiet among Dalits, who comprise nearly 17 per cent of India바카라s population, and a section of whom had come to support the BJP at the peak of the 바카라Modi wave바카라바카라one of the key factors that went into the making of the party바카라s triumph in the 2014 general elections, and subsequent successes in many states, especially Uttar Pradesh.
A series of alienating events during the Narendra Modi government바카라s reign has, however, queered the pitch for Dalit leaders who joined hands with the BJP. Prominent among them were the January 2016 suicide of Hyderabad University research scholar Rohith Vemula, who alleged a casteist witch-hunt by the administration; later that year, the flogging of four Dalit youth in Una town of Gujarat바카라s Gir Somnath district; in 2017, the police crackdown on Dalits following clashes with Rajputs in Saharanpur, western UP, and the continued incarceration under the National Security Act of Bhim Army leader Chandrashekhar Azad 바카라Raavan바카라, who was mobilising Dalits in the region against caste atrocities; the crackdown on Dalits in Maharashtra after clashes with right-wing outfits following the commemoration of the Battle of Bhima-Koregaon in January this year; and alleged dilution of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, on top of the persistently low conviction rates in atrocity cases.
바카라Dalits are agitated with the party (BJP) after recent events,바카라 admits Udit Raj. 바카라This is why there is a huge difficulty.바카라 This 바카라difficulty바카라 is plaguing not just this leader, nor just BJP MPs representing constituencies reserved for the SCs and STs, but almost every party in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) that contests elections on the social justice plank. Apparently mirroring a deep disquiet in the communities they woo for votes, even an appointment to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) seems to have been perceived as an insult to Dalits. When Justice A.K. Goel was appointed the NGT chairperson in June, it was seen as the government 바카라rewarding바카라 him for issuing, as a Supreme Court judge, the March 20 order that introduced new limitations on the application of the Atrocities Act.
바카라He should be removed (from the NGT). This appointment sent out wrong signals to the people,바카라 says Udit Raj, one of the several MPs who have been opposing Goel바카라s appointment. Ram Vilas Paswan and Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party, Republican Party of India (RPI) president Ramdas Athawale, the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party바카라s Upendra Kushwaha and Bahraich MP Sadhvi Savitribai Phoole of the BJP are among those who want the government to restore the 바카라pre-dilution바카라 Atrocities Act via an ordinance or legislation. They, too, seek Goel바카라s removal.
바카라We do contemplate many options, including resignation,바카라 says another leader who has spoken out against the NGT appointment and weakening of the Atrocities Act, but doesn바카라t wish to be identified. These leaders, perhaps, have little choice but to speak out as they may have much to lose from the ongoing caste-based polarisation. Dalits are mobilising for another 바카라Bharat bandh바카라 (all-India strike) on August 9; the first, on April 2, had left at least 10 Dalit men dead, while large numbers were arrested in the aftermath. 바카라The April 2 mobilisation has had a huge bearing on Dalit society and politics. It can바카라t be left unaddressed,바카라 says Udit Raj.
Explaining why the Dalit MPs are furious, Savitribai Phoole, one of the few ruling party MPs to support the April strike, blames the government for the spurt in crimes against Dalits and pandering to its dominant-caste voters, reflected in the watered-down Atrocities Act. 바카라Their Constitution is the Manu Smriti and they are implementing it across the country,바카라 she says. 바카라This is why Bahujans are being suppressed across the country.바카라 Phoole wishes the proposed August 9 bandh doesn바카라t end up like the April 2 one. 바카라The weakest people suffer the most every time there is violence. And it is for their safety and survival that the Atrocities Act must be restored to what it was before being diluted,바카라 she says. For former Rajya Sabha MP Ambeth Rajan of the BSP, the fight is for a 바카라fear-free India바카라 where Dalits no longer have to fight the dominant castes for their lives and dignity.
Athawale, who is minister of state for social justice and empowerment and believes the Modi government has 바카라done more than any other바카라 for Dalits, says the community is angry over Goel바카라s appointment. 바카라The government didn바카라t give him that post바카라the Supreme Court did that. And yet the Dalits feel it was because of his ruling on the Atrocities Act,바카라 says the RPI leader from Maharashtra. 바카라The government has already filed a writ petition to have the ruling reconsidered in the Supreme Court. The cabinet, too, may meet to discuss intervening via an ordinance.바카라
Kushwaha, minister of state for HRD and an OBC leader from Bihar, doesn바카라t agree that the government has nothing to do with the choice of NGT chairperson. 바카라The Supreme Court recommends, the government appoints. It could have just returned the recommendation. The government reversed the decision on the court-ordered freeze in reservations in promotions; it can do the same for the Atrocities Act,바카라 he says. 바카라I hope the government agrees and there바카라s no need for an agitation.바카라
According to Athawale, Goel바카라s judgement says the courts will not interfere in Parliament바카라s law-making domain, but it also says 90 per cent of cases under the Act are 바카라false바카라. 바카라Courts have the right to release people if there is no evidence against them, but when a Dalit house is burned, or a Dalit is murdered or raped, it바카라s called persecution, not 바카라false바카라 cases,바카라 he says.
For leaders of these 바카라social justice바카라 parties, the bandh on August 9바카라a day before Parliament바카라s monsoon session concludes바카라could mean a critical turn of events. Not only is their core political base among SCs and OBCs starting to question them, the spectre of mass mobilisation could make these smal-ler partners in the NDA even more dependent on the BJP for political salience and share in power. Indeed, Athawale says, 바카라So much strife between Dalits and Savarnas is not to either바카라s advantage.바카라
Another concern weighs upon these leaders: the potential conflict they can foresee between their own voters and the BJP바카라s. Though the BJP found supporters across social segments in the 2014 elections, its most loyal supporters바카라its traditional votebank, so to speak바카라have been among the dominant castes. If the BJP rolls back the 바카라dilutions바카라 in the Act, whether by legislation or ordinance, it would risk alienating some of these core voters, who find the Atrocities Act too harsh on the sections they belong to.
Satish Prakash, a Dalit professor and activist from Meerut College, believes the Dalits are 바카라very angry with the BJP바카라. 바카라But those who show up for the August 9 strike won바카라t be there just because of the anti-BJP anger,바카라 he says. 바카라The anger seen in the streets on April 2 continues to simmer, but Dalits are unlikely to let themselves be swayed emotionally this time. Dalit youth no longer want the status quo. Now, they are looking for a new line of leadership.바카라
Interestingly, the BSP has not supported this strike call so far, nor has BAMCEF, one of the top bodies affiliated with the BSP바카라s ideology. BSP chief Mayawati had extended support to the April 2 Bharat bandh when its widespread scale became apparent.
The BJP would consolidate its voters if it accepts the watered-down Atrocities Act, but not accepting the claims of Dalits puts at risk the credibility of its alliance partners바카라this is what has got the leaders of the 바카라social-justice바카라 parties in knots. It is also an unsustainable situation for the BJP, with 2019 elections less than a year away and assembly polls in two big states, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, later this year.
바카라BJP MPs are getting interested in us since elections are near. Where were they so far?바카라 asks Sushil Gautam of the Bhim Army. 바카라Hundreds of Dalits arrested in the wake of the April 2 bandh are still in jail. Our people are angry, but I don바카라t think they will step out on August 9 in big numbers.바카라
