Congress has oppressed Dalits, downtrodden, alleges BJP

The Opposition BJP on Friday launched the Bheema Hejje – 100 programme that commemorates the centenary of B.R. Ambedkar’s visit to Karnataka, by accusing the Congress of oppressing Dalits.

The Opposition BJP on Friday launched the Bheema Hejje– 100 programme that commemorates the centenary of B.R. Ambedkar’s visit to Karnataka, by accusing the Congress of oppressing Dalits.

Speaking at the inauguration of the centenary celebrations programme in Bengaluru, Leader of the Opposition R. Ashok said, “All these years, Congress has been the party oppressing the downtrodden. Even after 75 years of Independence, the Congress did not uplift the Dalits.”

Mr. Ashok further alleged that the Waqf Board had tried to take away the properties of a large number of Dalits. “When I visited various places in Karnataka to learn about land encroachments by the waqf, most of the complainants were Dalits,” he claimed.

Meanwhile, referring to the BJP’s ally JD(S) too going ahead with a separate campaign against the Congress government, Mr. Ashok said the BJP fully supports JD(S) protests. “We will discuss with Union Minister and JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy on whether to protest together or separately,” he said.