BJP gears up for damage control

NEWDELHI: Nine deaths and widespread violence during Monday’s Bharat Bandh called by Dalit groups to protest the alleged dilution of a law protecting the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes saw the government and the BJP swing into damage-control mode.

The government filed a review petition in the top court against a March 20 order that banned automatic arrests and criminal cases under the SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) act. Several minsters including home minister Rajnath Singh, reiterated the government’s commitment to the well being of SCS and STS .

The response and violence took the party by surprise, two BJP leaders, who didn’t wish to be identified, said. “We didn’t anticipate this,” one of them said. The other was concerned that the deaths could have political costs.

The deaths were reported from Bjp-ruled states -- six in Madhya Pradesh, two in Uttar Pradesh and one in Rajasthan.

“... it would have been better if a review petition was filed earlier,” said Bhagirath Prasad, the party MP from Bhind in Madhya Pradesh. The Opposition had succeeded in creating a perception against the BJP, he said. Bhind, where two people were killed, saw one of the worst violence.

“When the BSP and the SP are discussing alliance, such incidents don’t help us,” said a BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh, requesting anonymity.

Uttar Pradesh, where Dalits make up 22% of the population, sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha. The BJP had won 72 of these seats in 2014.

But its immediate concern will be Karnataka, where Dalits accounts for 16% of the population. The state votes for a new assembly on May 12. Madhya Pradesh’s 16% of the population is Dalit and the state votes later this year. So do Rajasthan, where SCS are 17% , and Chhattisgarh, where 12% of the people are SCS.

Home minister Singh led the government in reaching out to Dalits. “The government is committed to ensuring welfare of SCS, STS, and guaranteeing them full protection of law,” he said.

Social justice minister Thawar Chand Gehlot sent out tweets in response to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s post that said keeping Dalits at the lowest pedestal was in the RSS and the BJP’S DNA. The government had strengthened laws to curb atrocities against the SCS and STS, he said.