Rahul Gandhi.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday (December 30, 2024) slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Madhya Pradesh over the death of a Dalit man inside a police station in Dewas district and said the incident was “not possible without the government’s support”.
In a post on X, Mr. Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, wrote, “On one hand, a Dalit youth was killed in police custody in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. On the other hand, tribal women were tied to trees and beaten in Balasore, Odisha.”
“Both these incidents are sad, shameful and highly condemnable. Due to the Manuvadi thinking of BJP, such incidents are happening one after another in the states ruled by them – this is not possible without the support of the government,” he added.
On December 28, Mukesh Longre, 35, had died inside the Satwas police station in Dewas with the police maintaining that he was not in custody and had killed himself when he had been called to record his statement in connection with a complaint filed against him by a woman from his village.
Dewas Superintendent of Police Puneet Gahlot had told The Hindu that the Satwas station in-charge Ashish Rajput had been suspended in connection with the incident and that a judicial investigation was underway.
The victim’s family and the State unit of the Congress have, however, accused the local police of demanding a bribe from the man and “murdering” him.
Mr. Gandhi said, “Such barbarism against the Bahujans of the country will not be tolerated at any cost. We are with them, we will fight with full force for their constitutional rights and to get them justice.”
His sister and Congress general secretary Ms. Vadra took to X and alleged that the “insult of Babasaheb Ambedkar and oppression on weaker sections is the basic mantra of BJP’s rule”.
“The case of the death of a Dalit youth in police custody in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh is extremely serious. The family alleges that the youth died due to police brutality. Earlier, there was news of atrocities on Dalit families and the death of a Dalit youth in police custody from Parbhani, Maharashtra,” she wrote, adding, “It seems that under the BJP rule, the police have got a free hand to oppress the weaker sections like Dalits, Adivasis and the deprived.”
Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari had met the victim’s family on December 29 and slammed Chief Minister Mohan Yadav over the incident, demanding suspension of the entire staff of the police station.
On Monday, Mr. Patwari said again took on the ruling BJP over the cases of crimes against Dalits and tribals and said that his party will soon organise a programme against the government in Dr. Ambedkar Nagar – Mhow, the birthplace of the architect of the Constitution.
He said that Mr. Gandhi, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior party leaders will be invited for the event named ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan’. The event will focus on justice for Dalits and tribals as well as the Congress’ demand of a caste-based census, Mr. Patwari said.
Published – December 30, 2024 07:16 pm IST