BHOPAL: The recent expulsion of Uma Bharti-loyalist OBC leader Pritam Singh Lodhi over his outrageous remarks about brahmins, the rape of a 13-year-old Lodhi girl by an upper-caste man in
MP’s Sagar district and the death of a 9-year-old Dalit student after being assaulted by an upper-caste teacher in Rajasthan could serve as the impetus for an OBC-SC-ST third front in the state.
The rape of a 13-year-old girl from Lodhi caste (OBC category) by an elderly upper-caste man in the Banda area last month sparked two massive, yet distinct protests ahead of an OBC Mahasabha rally organised by expelled BJP leader Lodhi on Sunday in Sagar district of MP’s Bundelkhand region. The two separate protests were staged by Other Backward Class (OBC) Mahasabha and some right-wing Hindu outfits in different parts of Damoh town on Saturday.
Right-wing Hindu organisations protested on the same issue—the rape of the 13-year-old Lodhi girl in Banda—while OBC Mahasabha staged a gathering at the Damoh Tehsil Maidan (Sagar).Arun Mishra, the accused in the case, has already been arrested, but OBC and Hindu groups rallied in Damoh calling for the death penalty and the destruction of Mishra’s property.
But the remarks and slogans there showed the contrasting undertone of both marches that contributed to the tense mood in Damoh town. While the OBC leaders, in particular, launched a tirade against the religious preachers known as Kathavachaks in speeches, claiming that Kathavachaks (brahmins) will move from one village to another as political agents in the 2023 polls season. The Hindu outfit activists raised slogans like sadhu santo ka apman nahi sahega Hindustan and jaat paat ki karon vidai Hindu Hindu bhai bhai.
The police had a tough time controlling both protesting mobs from confronting each other. “Both the protests were staged without any permission. The protestors are being identified and action will be taken against them,” said DR Teniwar Damoh, the district police superintendent.