BackBJP president Amit Shah takes holy dip with Dalit leaders
With Punjab, UP assembly elections due in less than 12 months, the ruling party is making efforts to woo SCs since both these states have crucial Dalit voting blocs
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Ujjain: In an attempt to reach out to the members of the scheduled caste (SC) community, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Wednesday took a customary dip in the Shipra river along with religious leaders of Dalit communities at the Simhasth Kumbh in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.
Shah was joined by Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and representatives from several SC communities. Retired bureaucrats, police officers and prominent figures from scheduled caste communities participated in the event.
“The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is working for social harmony, peace, equality and development for all. We ask the religious leaders to bless this government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi," said Shah after the dip.
With assembly elections due in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in less than 12 months, the ruling party is making efforts to woo SCs since both these states have crucial Dalit voting blocs. While Punjab has a Dalit population of 32%, Uttar Pradesh has 20.5%.
“The religious leaders should bless the Madhya Pradesh government and the Union government to continue to work for the social harmony and development for all," said Chouhan at the event.
The customary dip was named Samrasta Snan or dip for social harmony with Dalits at Valmiki Ghat.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the BJP, has started a nationwide programme against untouchability and caste discrimination in order to be a “flawless" society.
The move is also likely to benefit the BJP in upcoming state elections. Members of the RSS are of the opinion that discrimination against SCs, scheduled tribes (STs) and other backward classes (OBCs) should be stamped out, a senior RSS leader said requesting anonymity.
The Union government’s focus on the community can be understood from the fact that the NDA has taken a policy decision under its Stand Up India programme to provide easy loans to entrepreneurs of Dalit community and women in the country.
The NDA government had come under severe criticism in February-March after RSS leaders had demanded that there should be a review of the reservation policy of the government. Modi had clarified in March that there would be no review in the government’s reservation policy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 21 March said the NDA government will not change the reservation policy, assuring the Dalits that job and university-seat quotas will stay in place. Delivering the B.R. Ambedkar national memorial lecture in New Delhi, Modi accused opposition parties of trying to spread untruths that the government was against the quota policy.
“In the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, social justice and empowerment of weaker sections was one of the key poll planks of BJP. The party’s manifesto had promised to bridge the gap, following the principles of Samajik Nyay (social justice) and Samajik Samrasata (social harmony). This social justice must be further complemented with economic justice and political empowerment. The party has already taken several steps for social and financial empowerment of the marginalized sections with launch of programmes like Mudra Bank for easy finance, Jan Dhan Yojana for access to banking services, Skill India, and Stand up India, said a statement released by BJP after the event.
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