Maya questions silence of PM, BJP on Dhar incident

LUCKNOW: BSP president Mayawati on Monday questioned the silence of top BJP leaders on the incident reported from MP’s Dhar district where police recruitment aspirants had their caste categories written on bare chests.

Referring to the Dhar incident, Mayawati said, “This is the new and fresh example of BJP governments’ newfound love for dalits for political gains.”

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president asked why top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not condemn the incident. “Does it suit the BJP and company, and the Prime Minister himself, to remain silent, (and) not to condemn such a casteist incident?” she asked.

Mayawati said officials responsible for the incident should be punished and the central government should issue strict orders to check recurrence of such incidents. “It (Dhar incident) is a criminal act. Because of the casteist and spiteful attitude towards dalits, tribals and backwards, people from backward sections were forced to convert,” she said.

“The BJP needs to realise that besides self-respect, dalits are also vigilant towards their interests. They will never fall into the trap of anyone’s allurements,” she said. The Dhar incident came to light when photographs in various newspapers showed aspirants with ‘SC’ (Scheduled Caste), ‘ST’ (Scheduled Tribe) and ‘G’ (General) marked with sketch pens on their chests as they queued up for medical examination.

Officials conducting medical examination told police that the markings were made to differentiate candidates as physical requirements for each category were different. Invoking the teachings of Gautam Buddha, she said rather than releasing political statements on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, BJP leaders should adopt Buddha’s message of peace, non-violence and harmony. Calling for a casteless society based on equality, she said several schemes were launched by the BSP government to highlight the contribution of Buddha to humanity.

“Besides setting up university, districts, park and museum in the name of Gautam Buddha in Lucknow and Noida, the BSP government also launched welfare schemes in the name of Mahamaya, mother of Gautam Buddha,” she said.