BJD SC cell stages dharna in front of Raj Bhavan

Seeking protection of dalits in BJP ruled Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, the Scheduled Caste cell of the ruling BJD in Odisha today staged a dharna in front of the Raj Bhavan here.
In a memorandum to the President of India through Odisha Governor, the BJD Dalit cell demanded action against the culprits who perpetrated atrocities on scheduled caste people in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
"If the atrocities on dalits in the two states of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat are not stopped immediately, we may be bound to have a 'Hartal' in all states of India," the BJD memorandum signed by its chairperson Bishnu Charan Das and others said.

Citing specific instances of atrocities on dalits in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, the BJD Scheduled Caste Cell claimed that their community men and women were in safe hands under the Naveen Patnaik administration.
Reacting over the protest, the opposition BJP said that the BJD leaders need to go to Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat to lodge complaint. There is no point in making noise in Odisha, said BJP state vice-president Samir Mohanty.