A month after inter-caste clashes began in Saharanpur, with Dalits bearing the brunt of the violence, opposition parties — including the Congress, the Bahujan Samaj party and the CPI-M — finally spoke out on Wednesday against the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh.
The parties demanded relief for the victims, punishment for the perpetrators and action against a lax administration.
The political response comes a day after BSP supremo Mayawati visited the area to meet the victims, following which a fresh round of violence left one Dalit youth dead, and a dozen others severely injured despite heavy police presence in the area.
On Wednesday, K. Raju, who heads the Congress’s SC Cell, after recent a visit Saharanpur, said: “It is extremely worrisome that the administration has remained silent all through. It neither prevented the violence nor stepped in to take action. He demanded immediate relief, rehabilitation and aid for all victims; arrest of all accused, trials in special courts.
‘Give up partisan stand’
The Yogi Adityanath government also came under fire from the CPI(M) with the party accusing it of backing upper caste “perpetrators” of the violence. The Left party also asked the government to give up its “partisan” stand to ensure that the law prevailed in Saharanpur. “The situation is deteriorating; the atrocities on Dalits and Muslims are taking place in front of the police. There is a complete absence of governance,” CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said.
