By Abdul Bari Masoud
New Delhi: In the wake of ensuing five states assembly election, the militant arm of the RSS, (parent body of the ruling BJP) Bajrang Dal launched ‘Samrasta Abhiyan’ with an aim to woo Dalit and adivasi people. The Congress described the so-called ‘Samrasta Abhiyan’ as nothing but a fraud, scam and deception to mislead the people of India.
The Congress’ Scheduled Castes Department slammed the Vishva Hindu Parishad and its militant youth wing, Bajrang Dal, for organising the so-called ‘Samrasta Abhiyan. It pointed out that both these organizations are affiliates of the RSS and the BJP, and serve as their agents in perpetuating caste-based violence against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes across India.
It is highly shameful that despite many active members being behind bars for serious crimes committed against Dalits and Adivasis, VHP and Bajrang Dal have the audacity to organize such a campaign, Rajesh Lilothia, Chairman, SC Department told Muslim Mirror.
We don’t have to go too far back in time to uncover the true character of VHP and Bajrang Dal, congress leader Lilothia said while referring a a report published by a major news organisation on January 4, 2022, Bajrang Dal attacked Dalit Akshaykumar Karaganvi and his family in Karnataka’s Belagavi district. According to the report, seven Bajrang Dal members were arrested and charged with rioting, trespassing, and violating the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by the Karnataka Police.
He recounted several incidents of atrocities against Dalit communities committed by Bajrang Dal activists.
*Sanjeev Kumar, a Dalit youngster and egg seller in Karma village of Rohtas district, Bihar, was harassed with casteist slurs, thrashed, and threatened to kill his entire family on June 7, 2021. While attempting to file a complaint with Dehri-on-special Sone’s SC-ST cell, the family submitted old video footage of being beaten up by the same group, confirming the Bajrang Dal’s frequent beating and harassment of SC/ST.
*25 Bajrang Dal men barged into an Adivasi residence in Dewda village in Thikri, Barwani district, Madhya Pradesh, on December 31, 2020, wrongly accusing them of religious conversion. They molested young women and girls, as well as an eight-month pregnant woman who gave birth to a stillborn child as a result of their actions.
*In Suari village, Khunti district, on September 22, 2019, a differently-abled tribal man named Kalantus Barla was lynched to death on suspicion of cow slaughter. Two others, Kachchap and Philip Horo, were seriously hurt, and the attack was blamed on Bajrang Dal members, according to the villagers.
There are many such caste-based atrocities perpetrated by Bajrag Dal, whereas there is no limit on communal atrocities that they have undertaken in the recent years. It is disgraceful that both, VHP and Bajrang Dal are pretending to establish unity among all castes in society just before the upcoming assembly elections in various states, said Lilothia.
“The people of India, especially those who belong to the oppressed castes, understand the regressive politics of RSS and BJP. They understand that the organisations like VHP and Bajrang Dal’s such national campaigns are superficial,” he added.
The Congress Party will not let them hide their true intentions or actions, and we will continue to expose them, he said.
This story first appeared on muslimmirror.com