U.P. no. 1 state in ‘atrocities’ against Dalits under BJP govt: Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav has alleged that Uttar Pradesh has become the number one state in the country in terms of atrocities against Dalits under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

He levelled the allegation in a statement issued on Monday. “The question is why only those states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra, which are ruled by the BJP, are involved in most of the crimes against Dalits, especially women,” the statement said.

“The BJP government is not only snatching away reservation and freedom, but now the power-protected dominant, strongmen and goons are taking lives,” the SP chief alleged. “The murder of a Dalit youth in Prayagraj for refusing to harvest wheat is a shocking incident,” Yadav said.

“The BJP is fundamentally a party of authoritarians and the mindset of its members is deeply feudal in which there is only humiliation and oppression for the poor, marginalised, Dalits, backward classes, minorities, women and tribals,” he further alleged.

“In both (BJP) party organisation and government, only a select few hold real power. Others are relegated to tasks like carrying banners and flags,” the SP chief claimed.

Yadav claimed that Dalits and those from other backward castes may be given symbolic positions in the BJP but they are never entrusted with actual authority.

“Elections are fought in their name but they are not given the chief minister’s chair or real leadership roles,” the SP chief alleged as he urged the Dalit community to reject the BJP.