Dalit rights not protected under BJP, BJD govts : OPCC chief

The fundamental rights of dalits are not protected under the BJP rule at the Centre and BJD regime in Odisha, state PCC president Niranjan Patnaik alleged here Tuesday.

The Congress on the other hand "has always and will always keep fighting for the rights of the dalits", he said at a gathering of dalits here.

When the governments at the Centre and the state are talking on development and financial inclusion they do not give priority to the Dalits, he said.

"The atrocities against Dalits will increase if these political parties try to end the reservation system and amend the rule," the OPCC president said.

Hitting out at the BJD government of Naveen Patnaik, he said that under its 18-year rule the social and financial conditions of the dalits have worsened.

"Minus Dalits there can be no development of Odisha," Patnaik said adding the section in Odisha needs social and financial development. "Some political parties like BJP have never raised their issues".

Turning to the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, he said it is "anti-dalit". A number of schemes must be prepared and implemented for the dalits with sincerity as only reservation cannot bring them fortune or develop them.

Congress appointed B R Ambedkar as the head of Constitution drafting body of India because it wanted to protect the fundamental rights of Dalits as well as every section of the society, Patnaik said.

"But RSS opposed the Constitution written by Ambedkar. It does not want that all sections of the society to get equal opportunities and equal status," he said.

Prominent dalit leader Jignesh Mewani, who is also a Congress MLA from Gujrat, too criticised both BJD and BJP for their attitude towards the dalits.

The Odisha government is silent on the gang rape of a minor dalit girl at Kunduli in Koraput district.

A 14-year old girl had alleged that she was raped by four men in uniform in October 2017. The girl committed suicide earlier this year.

"It is surprising that the BJD government is not raising its voice against the BJP government at the Centre on the Rafale scam. BJP and BJD are two sides of a coin. They support each other in every act," Mewani alleged.