Rahul Gandhi to visit violence-hit Una today to meet victims

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will visit Una town in Gujarat on Thursday, where atrocities on Dalit youth took place last week for allegedly killing a cow.

Gandhi was found taking a nap in the Parliament on Wednesday, when the case of atrocities against Dalit youth in Gujarat was raised.

Slamming Gandhi, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati said it showed his lackadaisical attitude towards the sensitive matter.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday asserted in her party's parliamentary party meet that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Government has snatched away the rights of 'adivasis', Dalits and traditional forest dwellers under the Forest Rights Act 2006 and was systematically weakening and subverting environmental rights.

Branding the attack on Dalits is a 'social evil', Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh condemned the Una incident and urged political parties to unite over the issue.

Some persons claiming to be 'Gau rakshak' (cow protectors) thrashed seven Dalit youth in Una last week alleging that they had killed a cow which they were skinning. The victims claimed that they were skinning the cow which had died of natural causes.

Video of the incident went viral, sparking protests. A policeman was killed in mob violence and a Dalit committed suicide as protests against last week's incident.

The Dalit who died during the day was among the five persons from the community who tried to take their own lives in separate incidents in Gujarat.