Centre defends state in Parliament

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 20

The attack on Dalits in Gujarat today led to a political slugfest in Parliament and furore outside, with the Centre emphasising the state government acted with alacrity against the culprits and announced compensation.

The incident figured in both the Houses. Rajya Sabha faced repeated adjournments after BSP chief Mayawati flagged the issue and falyed the Congress for failing to take it up in Gujarat where it is the principal party in the Opposition.

In the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Rajnath Singh condemned the attack and said even Prime Minister Narendra Modi was extremely saddened about it. The state government, he said, arrested the culprits and even suspended four police personnel. Later, Social Justice Minister Thawarchand Ghelot too defended the Gujarat Government, saying it had arrested 17 people thus far. The ministry, he said, would provide Rs 5 lakh compensation to the victims.

Urging members that it was time to collectively tackle the social malaise, Singh, reeled of statistics to underscore that atrocities against Dalits was high during the UPA government, be it 32,000 in 2004 or 37,000 in 2009 as per the National Crime Records Bureau. In Gujarat, it was on the decline since 2001 when Modi became the Chief Minister.

K Suresh (Congress) raised the issue during Zero Hour after Speaker Sumitra Mahajan rejected move to raise it during Question Hour. The members stayed put in the Well raising slogans, while the MP charged that large-scale protests in the state by Dalits following the July 11 incident showed they had lost faith. Protests by the ruling coalition benches accused the RSS and upper castes lobby behind the violence.