Udupi: Former minister and KPCC campaign committee president Vinay Kumar Sorake accused the BJP of using people from the Dalit community with what he described as a “Manusmriti mindset” to insult the Constitution of India.
He was speaking at a protest organised by the KPCC campaign committee in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Ajjarkad in Udupi, condemning the alleged purification of a venue where Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had delivered a speech.
The protest began with Congress leaders garlanding the statue of Mahatma Gandhi.
Sorake questions BJP’s stand
Sorake alleged that the BJP was using Dalits to insult the Constitution drafted by Dr B R Ambedkar. He also criticised BJP national president Mahendra Bhatt for allegedly defending the purification act, describing the development as unfortunate.
“Such developments are an attempt to take the country back to the 18th century. Inequality, discrimination and untouchability were not created by god; they were created by human beings,” Sorake said.
He alleged that attempts were being made to exploit members of the Dalit community in the name of untouchability and criticised the BJP for allegedly defending such acts despite continuing instances of injustice faced by Dalits.
Sorake also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence over allegations concerning the misuse of funds related to the Ayodhya Ram Mandir. Referring to Modi’s slogan, “Na khaunga, na khane dunga”, he questioned where the slogan had gone.
Bhat alleges attempts to divide Dalits
Speaking at the protest, Baindur block campaign committee president Dr Subrahmanya Bhat alleged that the BJP was attempting to create divisions among Dalits by using one section of the community against another.
Bhat also accused the government of using the police to register cases against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
He said the Congress would not be intimidated by such cases and claimed that attempts to weaken the party and Rahul Gandhi would not affect its “moral strength”.
Bhat further alleged that groups had been brought in to suppress the protest and said the Congress had never adopted such methods.
He also accused the BJP of misleading workers of Dalit organisations and using them against Dalit leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge.
Jayaprakash Hegde calls for human values
Former MP Jayaprakash Hegde said there was a need for people to embrace human values and live as true human beings.
“It is unfortunate that instead of becoming more humane, we are becoming more like demons,” he said.
Taking a dig at those who allegedly purified the venue where Kharge had spoken, Hegde said that merely cleaning the ground was not enough and that their inner selves and mindset also needed to be cleansed.
He further alleged that those who question the government by pointing out its mistakes are branded anti-national, while those who praise the BJP are projected as patriots.
Gandhi’s songs rendered during protest
During the protest, Sudarshan and his troupe rendered Raghupati Raghava Rajaram and Vaishnava Jana To as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.
The protest brought together several Congress leaders and workers, who raised concerns over what they described as attacks on constitutional values, social equality and the legacy of Dr B R Ambedkar.
Udupi District Congress Campaign Committee president Alevoor Harish Kini, Congress leaders Ashok Kumar Kodavoor, Ramesh Kanchan, Hariprasad Rai, Prakhyath Shetty and Jyothi Hebbar, among others, participated in the protest.
The Congress leaders used the occasion to criticise the BJP over the alleged purification incident and to reiterate their opposition to what they described as attempts to promote discrimination and undermine constitutional values.