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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Govt reiterates stand on attacks against Dalits
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Govt reiterates stand on attacks against Dalits

Home minister Rajnath Singh says India could not progress until the poor and downtrodden are empowered

Home minister Rajnath Singh says had the previous government done something to uplift Dalits, this situation would not have arisen. Photo: AFPPremium
Home minister Rajnath Singh says had the previous government done something to uplift Dalits, this situation would not have arisen. Photo: AFP

New Delhi: Reiterating its stern message to state governments to take immediate and strict action against perpetrators of violence against Dalits, home minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that ending Dalit persecution should not be politicized and instead be taken up as a challenge.

“Even after 70 years of independence, we are discussing the issue of atrocities against Dalits in the House. We have to take this mindset as a challenge and not politicize the issue. Unity in diversity, where everyone stays together, is the strength of our country," he said during a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the recent reports of violence against Dalits.

Talking about the various schemes launched by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government for the socioeconomic empowerment of Dalits, Singh said India could not progress until the poor and downtrodden are empowered.

The NDA, in its two years in power, has tried to reach out to the Dalit community through flagship programmes such as Stand Up India, providing soft loans to foster entrepreneurship.

“Schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna and Stand Up India have empowered the people of this community. Such initiatives have never been launched before," Singh said.

Taking a dig at the United Progressive Alliance, the home minister said that had the previous government done something to uplift Dalits, this situation would not have arisen.

His statement comes at a time, when, for the past 20 days of the monsoon session, the government has been repeatedly cornered by opposition parties over incidents of atrocities against Dalits—most recently when self-styled cow protectors in Una, Gujarat, beat up four Dalit men for skinning a dead cow.

The home minister also said that action should be taken against anti-social elements like cow vigilantes.

To be sure, two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent out a strong message against self-styled cow vigilantes while addressing a public rally in Hyderabad, the Union home ministry on Tuesday had asked state governments to ensure that no law and order situation arises in the name of cow protection, and if it does, there should be zero tolerance for such law breakers.

In its advisory, the home ministry asked state governments to ensure no such vigilante group is allowed to take the law into its hands “under any circumstances" in the garb of cow protection.

However, the opposition attacked the prime minister for his long silence on the issue.

“The Una incident took place on 11 July and the PM issued a call to stop the attacks on Dalits on 7 August. Why is it that it took him 26 days to react to the incident," asked Saugata Roy of the Trinamool Congress during the discussion.

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Published: 12 Aug 2016, 12:49 AM IST
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