AHMEDABAD: Former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela has sparked controversy with his remark offering Rs 50,000 to members of the “Patel, Vaniya or Brahmin” communities who take up manual scavenging, drawing accusations of casteism and promoting social enmity from the ruling BJP.
Vaghela had made the statement while addressing a public gathering at tribal dominated Sagbara in Narmada district on Gandhi Jayanti on Friday. The former Rajya Sabha MP was speaking in favour of reservation and denouncing those who want these to be scrapped.
Challenging "Patel, Vaniya or Brahmin" members to take up manual scavenging, Vaghela said, "Reservation was not granted as a favour; it is something that has been earned through a lifetime of suffering."
"I tell everyone, whether you are a Patel, Vaniya, or Brahmin and oppose reservation. If you are willing to take up the job of manual scavenging, I will pay you a monthly salary of Rs 50,000 to clean up the excreta of these people. If you were to live in the conditions that tribal communities endure, you would realize what their plight is truly like," he said.
Reservation is a form of restitution for years of injustice, Vaghela added, his statement coming amid speculation that the 86-year-old veteran leader could once again join the Congress.
Slamming him, BJP leader Yagnesh Dave, a prominent Brahmin face of the party, said fostering animosity between communities or castes is inappropriate.
The practice of manual scavenging that Vaghela spoke about has already been eradicated in the country, with past and present governments having worked to ensure this community can live with dignity and receive justice, Dave told reporters.
"His statement about offering Rs 50,000 to Brahmin, Patel, and Bania communities if they are willing to take up manual scavenging is absolutely wrong. My message to him is that he should begin this noble task within his own caste. You should start it yourself. Clean up the waste at my home, and I will give you Rs 5 lakh," Dave said in a swipe at Vaghela.
Vaghela should consider the implications of such political rhetoric, as provoking the Brahmin community will not be taken lightly, Dave added.
His statement only sows discord between communities and religions, the BJP leader claimed.
(With inpus from PTI)