Dalit groups in Rajasthan have opposed the decision of the Bharatiya Janata Party to induct Congress MLA from Bari in Dholpur district, Girraj Singh Malinga, into the party and field him from the same seat for the Assembly election.
Mr. Malinga left the Congress after being denied ticket. He joined the BJP on November 5 in the presence of Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The three-time MLA faces charges of assaulting a Dalit engineer of the Energy Department in 2022.
Mr. Malinga was booked in a case of alleged assault of two engineers, one of whom is a Dalit, after they went to a Rajput-dominated village in his constituency to enquire about the non-payment of electricity bills by a large number of people.
The MLA allegedly stormed into their office with his associates on March 28, 2022, and assaulted the engineers. He also used casteist slurs.
The victim, Harshadhipati Valmiki, sustained multiple fracture injuries, including a broken femur, in the attack. He is still undergoing treatment at Sawai Man Singh Government Hospital in Jaipur.
Dalit organisations said here that the BJP, by bringing Mr. Malinga into its fold and making him candidate for the Assembly election, had proved that it was anti-Dalit and its slogans against Dalit atrocities were an “election gimmick”. The groups had earlier launched a campaign against Mr. Malinga and urged the Congress not to give him ticket for the election. The Congress has fielded Prashant Singh Parmar from Bari.
Dalit activist and author Bhanwar Meghwanshi said the BJP had revealed its hatred against Dalits and presented a proof of being anti-Dalit by fielding Mr. Malinga from Bari. “This is an open challenge to Dalits,” he said, adding that Mr. Valmiki was still in hospital.
Anusuchit Jati Adhikar Abhiyan’s convener Satyaveer Singh said the Congress, by denying ticket to the MLA, had sent across a strong message that the party had no place for those indulging in atrocity against Dalits. The BJP, on other hand, had added salt to injury by its action, he said.
In a statement, the Abhiyan pointed out that a study of the increasing Dalit atrocities in the State would reveal that the supporters of the ideology of the BJP and the RSS were playing a leading role in the crimes against Dalits. The BJP had no moral right to pretend to be a Dalit-friendly party, it said.
Another activist, Bhagwan Sahay Sulla, said the BJP had given ticket to Mr. Malinga by ignoring the sentiments of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. He appealed to all Dalits in the State to boycott Mr. Malinga.
The case against Mr. Malinga was registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, after which the police arrested several of the accused persons. Mr. Malinga surrendered on May 11, 2022, and was sent by a court in Dholpur to judicial custody. After he tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to a hospital, the Rajasthan High Court granted him bail. The chargesheet is yet to be filed in the court.
After joining the BJP, Mr. Malinga told presspersons that he was being harassed by the Congress and he had not received any support from the party or the government in the “false and politically motivated” case registered against him. The MLA said he had joined the BJP after observing the policies and programmes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
