'Acceptability eludes Dalits even at top post': Bihar Congress chief breaks down over attack on CJI

Patna: Bihar Congress president Rajesh Kumar Ram, the party's Dalit face in the poll-bound state, on Tuesday burst into tears while voicing anguish over the attack on Chief Justice of India BR Gavai.

Addressing a press conference, Ram alleged the incident reeks of the RSS's ideology.

"Even after reaching the most respectable constitutional posts with efforts of a lifetime, acceptability eludes Dalits," he said, breaking down.

"The incident reeks of RSS' ideology," he alleged, claiming that the BJP wants to replace the Constitution, which has empowered Dalits, with 'Manusmriti'.

Ram alleged that Dalits are still facing atrocities in daily life.

"We, as Dalits, have been facing discrimination day in and day out -- within the House and beyond," he said.

A lawyer, identified as Rakesh Kishor, attempted to hurl a shoe towards CJI Gavai in his courtroom on Monday.

The CJI, who remained unfazed during and after the incident, asked Supreme Court officials and security personnel to "just ignore" it and let off the errant lawyer with a warning.

Ram, who is aiming for a hat-trick from the Kutumba assembly seat this time, also charged the NDA governments, both at the Centre and in the state, with doling out "election-centric tokenistic welfare measures" for women.

Speaking alongside him, Jharkhand minister Dipika Pandey Singh questioned the authenticity of the NDA government's claim of ensuring financial empowerment for women.

"What has the PM given the women of Bihar? A mere Rs 10,000?" she asked.

Pandey announced that if voted to power, the Mahagathbandhan will give Rs 30,000 to women per year, and even provide them with ownership of plots measuring 3-3.5 decimal.

She highlighted that the Mahagathbandhan government in Jharkhand is already giving Rs 30,000 per year to women, which, she emphasised, is "not centred around elections".

She alleged that 64 per cent of people in Bihar have been pushed into the "quagmire of poverty" by the NDA government.

"The condition of education, health, and security is deplorable in the state, let alone the prospects of financial empowerment. Women are the worst sufferers of this abject poverty," she claimed.

"If PM's intentions were right, he would have made provisions for the entire nation, and not just Bihar. If Nitish Kumar is healthy enough to govern Bihar, he should come forward and lay his vision for the women of Bihar," she added.