Centre, BJP reach out to Dalits again; Shah to address rally in Rae Bareli

In the midst of his party’s battle against the Congress in Karnataka, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah will address a public rally, and also attend several other programmes, in the Nehru-Gandhi family pocket borough of Rae Bareli on April 21.

Rae Bareli is the constituency of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Shah’s rally and other events will be attended by party workers from neighbouring constituencies, including Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha constituency of Amethi. Rahul Gandhi is currently on a visit to Amethi. 

The Centre, on Tuesday, continued its Dalit outreach, with Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan saying the Modi government would push for reservation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in promotions in government jobs. A top leader also said that three BJP-ruled states have decided to keep in abeyance the implementation of the Supreme Court order on the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.  The leader said Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan governments will also file a review petition against the order.

The BJP has been nervous about its Dalit support base deserting the party in the wake of the March 20 order and due to subsequent protests.

Paswan, who has been frequently holding press conferences on the issue, said on Tuesday that the Centre could bring an ordinance. Paswan is also a member of the group of ministers constituted for issues involving SCs and STs.

In another development, former Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia began his indefinite fast in Ahmedabad demanding construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. Togadia, 62, had quit the VHP last week after his nominee Raghav Reddy lost a key organisational poll. The police denied Togadia permission to sit on a fast at the GMDC ground, after which he shifted the venue to outside the VHP headquarters.