Atrocities against tribals and Dalits have increased in BJP’s rule: Congress

The person, identified as Pravesh Shukla, was arrested by the Madhya Pradesh Police

Targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the incident in which an alleged BJP worker urinated on a mentally challenged tribal man in Madhya Pradesh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that the episode exposed the “disgusting face” of the BJP and its “hatred” towards tribals and Dalits.

On Tuesday, the video of a man, alleged to be a local BJP leader from Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh, showed him urinating on a tribal person, leading to outrage on social media.

The person, identified as Pravesh Shukla, was arrested by the Madhya Pradesh Police after Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan promised stringent action. The Madhya Pradesh Government has registered a case under the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The stringent National Security Act has also been invoked against the accused.

Mr. Gandhi, however, claimed on Twitter that atrocities against tribals and Dalits were increasing under the BJP’s rule and slammed the party over the Madhya Pradesh incident.

“Atrocities on tribal brothers and sisters are increasing in the BJP rule. The entire humanity has been put to shame by the inhuman crime of a BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh. This is the disgusting face and real character of BJP’s hatred towards tribals and Dalits,” Mr. Gandhi said.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted: “The inhuman and disgusting act done by a person close to a BJP MLA to a tribal youth in Madhya Pradesh is extremely shameful.” In 18 years of the BJP’s rule in the State, Ms. Vadra claimed, 30,400 cases of atrocities on tribals had come to the fore.