Why did the BJP MP accuse his own party of being anti-Dalit?

Neither any agenda nor any policy was formulated in the interest of Dalits. On the contrary, during the last 10 years of Narendra Modi’s rule, Dalits were physically attacked by Hindutva supporters.
Ravikant
Karnataka BJP’s seven-time MP and former Union Minister Ramesh Jigajinagi has accused his own party of being anti-Dalit. After Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister for the third time, voices that were silent for the last ten years have now started becoming vocal. One reason for this is obviously Narendra Modi’s coalition government. Despite BJP being reduced to 240 seats, Narendra Modi succeeded in forming his government. But Dalits did not get any importance in his cabinet. Ramesh Jigajinagi, who was the Minister of State last time, was expected to be made a cabinet minister this time. He has alleged through his supporters that BJP is an anti-Dalit party. Upper castes dominate the BJP. Only upper castes were included in the cabinet. Obviously this is nothing new but the allegation made by a senior Dalit MP of BJP has its own meaning.
The humiliation and oppression of Dalits that has been going on for centuries has continued more or less even after independence. Although the rights of the Constitution and law have certainly provided them protection, the landless, weak, uneducated Dalits are doomed to be humiliated and beaten to death in the face of the arrogance and oppression of Brahminical feudalism that has taken root in the society. However, a small middle class has emerged among the Dalits due to the modern education system and the right to reservation. Social awareness has arisen. Through political consciousness, Dalits have started understanding their agenda and right to representation. But Brahminical forces have been active in erasing this change. In contrast to India’s politics of inclusion and social justice, the politics of Hindutva started only after independence. RSS is the operator and intellectual center of this politics. RSS first established the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951 under the leadership of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Through Jansangh, RSS got the opportunity to come to power for the first time during the Janata Party government (1978-1980).
After the Janata Party government collapsed, Jansangh broke away. In 1980, RSS formed BJP in place of Jansangh. After this, it formed Samajik Samrasta Manch in 1983 to connect Dalits with BJP. This platform became a laboratory for Hinduization of Dalits. Participation of Dalits in the Ram Mandir movement gave wings to the hopes of RSS-BJP to come to power. A Dalit Kameshwar Chaupal was made to lay the first brick of the symbolic temple. Many conspiracies were hatched to erase the past and memories of Dalits.
Dalit messiah and constitution maker Baba Saheb Ambedkar passed away on 6 December 1956. This is a day of inspiration for the Dalit community. To erase the memories of this day, Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992 under a well thought out strategy. RSS, BJP, Hindu Mahasabha and other Hindutva organisations celebrate 6th December as Shaurya Diwas. The strategy of BJP-RSS is to blunt the consciousness of Dalits and use them to gain power. Social justice has been changed to social harmony. Its aim is to establish Hindu unity against Muslims-Christians while maintaining caste system and inequality.
Babasaheb Ambedkar burnt the Manusmriti on 25 December 1927. Babasaheb clearly believed that the caste system and the oppression of Dalits have been given divine sanction through religious texts. Therefore, religious texts should be blown up with explosives. The Hindutva of BJP-RSS is actually the new Brahmanism. The aim of Hindutva is to re-establish the caste system in the society and establish upper caste supremacy through the symbolic politics of religion, religious texts, temples and God. Therefore, to erase the memories of Manusmriti Dahan Diwas, Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary (25 December) started being celebrated on a large scale and it was called Good Governance Day.
After Narendra Modi came to power, Manusmriti started being propagated openly. In the name of ancient Indian knowledge tradition, continuous efforts are being made to include it in the curriculum of educational institutions. Earlier, Maharashtra government tried to include verses from Manusmriti in school education, now Delhi University’s Law Faculty is trying to include Manusmriti in the syllabus. Babasaheb had burnt Manusmriti because it considers Dalits, backward people (Shudras) and women as second class humans. According to Manusmriti, Dalits, Shudras and women do not have the right to education and to acquire property. Manusmriti enslaves these communities and gives the Brahminists the right to exploit them. Actually, Manusmriti is against the constitution and humanity. But for Hindutvawadis, it is a book to be recited in the morning. RSS has never hidden its love for Manusmriti, Manuism and Manusmritikar. Three days after the constitution was passed (26 November 1949), on 30 November 1949, RSS’s mouthpiece Organiser criticized the Indian constitution by saying that it does not contain Manu’s codes. Jaipur has also been a centre of the Ram Mandir movement. During this time, Manu’s statue was installed in the premises of the Rajasthan High Court. On the request of Padma Kumar Jain, the then president of the Rajasthan High Court Officers Association, Justice MM Kasliwala approved the installation of Manu’s statue in the name of beautification. Within just 23 days, Manu’s statue was installed in the premises of the Jaipur High Court on 28 June 1989. Its protest started from that very day. Under its pressure, a decision was taken to remove Manu’s statue in the administrative meeting of the High Court on 28 July 1989. But the Vishwa Hindu Parishad filed a petition against this decision. Even today, this statue is mocking the Constitution and the judiciary. Indirectly, RSS and BJP are behind this. Obviously, those who believe in Manu can never be Dalit-friendly.
Atal-Advani’s BJP had understood that power cannot be achieved without the support of Dalits. That is why in 2000, RSS-affiliated Dalit leader Bangaru Laxman from Telangana was made the national president of BJP. But he was removed within a year after a corruption case was exposed. Another proof of BJP being anti-Dalit is that till date BJP has not given a strong Dalit leader a place in a policy making and decisive position. Overall, BJP has been in power at the center for more than 15 years. BJP governments have been in power in more than a dozen states. But till now not a single Dalit has been made the Chief Minister. There is no strong Dalit face in the central government either. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is just a mask to woo Dalits by becoming Modi’s shadow. Similarly, former President Ramnath Kovind was also used for vote bank politics. But neither any agenda nor any policy was made in the interest of Dalits. On the contrary, during the last 10 years of Narendra Modi’s rule, Dalits were physically attacked by Hindutvaists. From cutting off moustaches to making people drink urine, rape and murder, such heinous and inhumane incidents are continuing unabated. Dalits are wandering for justice. Narendra Modi glorified the work of sanitation workers by washing their feet. But their children’s education, government jobs and reservation have been made almost meaningless. Not only this, a sanitation worker dies in the gutter in Modi’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi, but his family does not get any justice. Gudiya Valmiki is raped in Hathras. Then she dies. But her family members are still wandering for justice. In Modi’s home state Gujarat, Dalits cannot enter temples in more than 100 villages even today. The strength of Brahminism under BJP’s rule is such that Ramnath Kovind was not allowed to enter the temples of Puri and Pushkar while being the President, but no action was taken against the priests. In Una, Gujarat, self-proclaimed cow protectors publicly beat up four Dalit brothers after stripping them naked for skinning a dead cow and released a video of it. But Narendra Modi only says, ‘Shoot me but don’t kill my Dalit brothers.’ This will be called a pretense. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Dalits openly opposed the BJP and gave a befitting reply to those who wanted to change the Constitution. Now, a BJP MP calling the BJP anti-Dalit means that the Manuwadi face of the BJP has been completely exposed among the Dalits.
(The author is a Dalit thinker and Assistant Professor in the Hindi Department of Lucknow University.)
Courtesy : Hindi News