NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW: Dalit organisations condemned the violence that broke out on Wednesday evening while Dalits protested the demolition of the temple of leader Sant Ravidas in Delhi’s Tughlakabad.
Organisations said they would launch a signature campaign for the temple to be reinstated at the very same spot.
While Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati distanced her party from Chandra Shekhar Azad led Bhim Army, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticised the BJP on Twitter.
“The age old practice of BSP workers of not taking law into their hands is still very prevalent unlike other political parties. We cannot cause inconvenience to innocent people in the name of our great people and ideologues. That is why BSP has nothing to do with the violent protests in Tughlakabad last evening. BSP always respects law and our protests are always within the limits of law,” Mayawati tweeted.
Vadra too took to Twitter to say the insult of Dalit voices cannot be tolerated and their emotions should be respected. “First the BJP government messes around with Ravi Das temple -- the symbol of cultural heritage of crores of Dalits, and when thousands of Dalit brothers and sisters raise their voice in the national capital, the BJP lathi charges them, gets tear gas fired at them and arrests them,” she said.
‘Miscreants to be blamed’
Dalit activist Ashok Bharti said on Thursday that the protests were peaceful throughout the day and raised doubts on how it turned violent by late evening.
“It looks like the work of a few miscreants. The protests were peaceful and we will continue to raise our voices peacefully against the demolition of the temple. We condemn the violence that happened,” he said.
“The sentiments of Dalits were hurt and they gathered to peacefully protest against it,” said Bharti. R P Singh, co-convener, of Ravidas Mandir Samiti, said that the demolition was a direct attack on Dalits.