No trust deficit between BJP & its Dalit MPs: BJP SC Morcha chief

The BJP today denied that its Dalit MPs from Uttar Pradesh were angry with the party, but maintained that the lawmakers should have raised their grievances in party forums.

"Let me tell you that there is no trust deficit between the party and Scheduled Caste MPs from Uttar Pradesh. They are not angry with the party," Kaushal Kishore, BJP MP and the state president of the party's SC Morcha, told reporters here.

But, the MPs should have raised their grievances at a relevant party forum, he added.

Kishore dismissed rumours doing the rounds that angry lawmakers were voicing their grievances in public at the behest of rival political parties, which might have entered into a secret pact with the disgruntled leaders.

"There is not an iota of truth in this. No ticket has been finalised as of now for the Lok Sabha elections, which are at least a year away. We generally speak to each other on a host of issues, but they did not complain that they are angry," the MP from Mohanlalganj in Lucknow said.

After facing strident criticism from the Opposition on Dalit issues, the BJP is now grappling with a rising voice of discontent among its MPs belonging to Scheduled Castes in UP.

Lok Sabha members from Etawah and Nagina, Ashok Kumar Dohrey and Yashwant Singh respectively, were the latest to join other Dalit colleagues, who have publicly expressed their unhappiness, especially after the recent protests by the community over a Supreme Court ruling on the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dohrey had alleged that Dalits and tribals across the country, especially in UP, were being framed by the police in false cases after the protests, leading to growing insecurity among them.

Singh, meanwhile, had reportedly said that nothing had been done for Dalits in the last four years. Representatives from the community were finding it increasingly difficult to address the concerns of their constituents, he added.