Yogi shielding perpetrators: Cong

THE CONGRESS HAS DEMANDED ACTION AGAINST DISTRICT OFFICIALS FOR FAILING TO PREVENT ASSAULTS ON MEMBERS OF THE DALIT COMMUNITY

The Congress on Wednesday accused Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath of protecting perpetrators of atrocities on Dalits in Saharanpur, and demanded action against the district officials for failing to prevent assaults on the community members.

“All these incidents are happening because certain sections of society believe that after Yogi Adityanath became the CM, they have got the licence to oppress Dalits, commit atrocities and are confident that law will not be initiated against them,” said party’s Scheduled Caste department head K Raju.

He added, “They think the CM will provide them protection and allow them to commit atrocities on Dalits. It is not good for a state when a section feels that it can get away with murder while weaker sections, the voiceless and Dalits feel they will get no protection from the government,” he said.

Raju said though hundreds of upper caste youths committed atrocities on Dalits, only 32 people have been arrested so far.

“The district administration has also failed to provide any relief to Dalits who suffered serious injuries and lost their avenues of earning,” Raju said.

The main opposition party demanded strict action against the administration, including the district magistrate and the police superintendent, for their failure to prevent “occurrence and recurrence” of such incidents.

“The administration should understand that they are duty bound to provide relief, rehabilitation and compensation to the Dalit victims under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989, as amended in 2015,” Raju said.

The Congress also asked the chief minister to instill confidence among Dalit victims and ensure protection to the witnesses, and convene a meeting of vigilance and monitoring committees to prevent recurrence of such incidents.