Bhim Army chief warns Gujarat govt against Dalit 'atrocities'

Ahmedabad: Criticising the BJP government in Gujarat over the recent incidents of wedding processions of Dalits being stopped by some sections of the society, Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar Azad Friday issued a warning saying such atrocities will no longer be tolerated.

Talking to reporters here, Azad said 'jungle raj' is prevailing in Gujarat as members of the Scheduled Caste (SC) community are deprived of their fundamental rights given by the Constitution.

"I came to Gujarat because many incidents of atrocities on Dalits have happened recently. It seems that Constitutional provisions do not apply in Gujarat. Article 15 of the Constitution, which protects all the citizens from discrimination, has been removed by the Gujarat government," said Azad alias Ravan.

Not just for taking out wedding processions, Dalits in Gujarat were persecuted for keeping moustache and suffixing 'Sinh' in their names, he said.

"They are still not allowed to visit temples. This is nothing but 'jungle raj'. I want to tell the government that Dalits will not tolerate this insult anymore. We want the government to wake up and come to its senses," he added.

The Bhim Army chief added that he would visit all those villages of Gujarat where wedding processions of Dalit grooms were stopped.

These incidents took place at Lhor village in Mehsana, Sitvada village in Sabarkantha and at Khambhisar in Arvalli district.