Centre should not be blamed for Dalit atrocities: Ahir

The NDA-led Central government or BJP should not be blamed for various incidents of atrocities on Dalits in the states, Union Minister Hansraj Ahir said today.
"It is unfortunate that during last two and half years of the Modi government's rule, the Opposition could not find anything. It was unfortunate that an incident against Dalits occurred in Gujarat," the Minister of State for Home Affairs told reporters here.
"But is the Union government responsible for it (Dalit atrocities)? Is the party (BJP) responsible for it?," he asked.
Ahir said it was unfortunate that the Opposition tried to "make it (Dalit atrocities) a big issue against the Centre".

"BJP has already made it clear that they do not support such actions against Dalits. Even Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) made the statement from an open platform on the issue," said the minister.
Ahir said the Centre was working towards "reducing atrocities on Dalits."

Speaking about the demand for beef ban, the Union minister said, "Beef eating practise has been going on since long. It did not start during our tenure. We still consider cow as 'Gaumata'. When there was a ban on beef in Maharashtra, we supported it."
He said the issue of transporting cows or buffaloes by vehicles for slaughtering has to be handled by the respective state governments.

"There are enough laws which can be invoked to stop such transportation," Ahir added.