New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday issued a statement in the Lok Sabha on the Una incident and instead of mollifying the opposition, caused further uproar.
Speaking in the Lower House, Rajnath praised the manner in which the Gujarat government handled the situation post the Una incident wherein a group of Dalit youths were assaulted by a vigilante cow protection group last week for allegedly killing a cow.
He also hit out at the main opposition party, saying, “During the Congress rule in Gujarat, the number of cases of atrocities against Dalits were high. There has been a sharp decline since the BJP came to power”.
The remarks immediately led to an uproar.
Rajnath, however, also said that “atrocities against Dalits are a social evil” and it must be taken up as a challenge to tackle them.
“We must take it up as a challenge. I urge all parties to come together to fight this,” the minister told MPs.
“We strongly condemn the Una incident in Gujarat. The PM has also taken cognizance of the issue.
“Nine people have been arrested so far. Four police officials have been suspended for negligence of duty,” the minister informed.
He added that of the nine persons arrested, seven have been sent to judicial custody while the remaining two have been remanded to police custody.
As sloganeering continued, the Upper House was adjourned for the fourth time till 2 pm.
Uproar was witnessed in both Houses of Parliament earlier today as well when they convened for the session, over the Una incident.
Several opposition MPs belonging to the Congress, BSP, TMC and JD(U) had entered the well of the House in the Rajya Sabha forcing Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien to adjourn the House first for 10 minutes and then till 12 noon. The disruptions continued afterwards as well.
In the Lok Sabha also, opposition lawmakers caused an uproar but the proceedings continued.
The main opposition Congress had earlier given a notice in the Lok Sabha for discussion on the Una incident.
“We will raise the Una incident issue in Parliament,” Congress president Sonia Gandhi said at her party's parliamentary meeting in the morning.
Hitting out at the Central government, Sonia said “brutal atrocities against SC, ST and other minorities are continuing with impunity and shaming us all”.
“The government has snatched the rights of tribals, Dalits and traditional forest dwellers under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and is weakening environment rights,” she further stated.
On Wednesday, Dalit rights organisations have called a state-wide shutdown in Gujarat to protest against the Una incident.
