Congress leader Anand Sharma | PTI
NEW DELHI: IN an attempt to paint the BJP as anti-Dalit and regain its traditional vote bank, the Congress on Wednesday accused the saffron party of pursuing the RSS agenda against reservations.
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi deployed veterans Ahmed Patel, Anand Sharma and Dalit leader Kumari Selja to point out that the government deliberately did not contest the apex court directive diluted stringent provisions of the the SC/ST Act mandating immediate arrest under the law.
“Why did the law minister or the attorney general not object against the order in the court?” Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, adding “the BJP paid only lip-service to the community.”
Kumari Selja, a former union minister who works closely with Sonia Gandhi on Dalit issues, said the government not opposing the SC order reflected the RSS conspiracy against reservations for the SC/ST. “Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi passed the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to bring justice to the community and empower them. The BJP wants to end this,” the Congress leader said.
Inequality in the Indian society was a reality, Anand Sharma said, urging the government to come out clean over the issue.
