Congress slams BJP-RSS's 'Manuvadi ideology' for Dalit IPS officer's suicide

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday blamed BJP’s “Manuvadi” ideology for the alleged suicide of a senior Dalit IPS officer, claiming that it has become a “curse” for the SC, ST, OBC and weaker sections.

Kharge said the news of suicide of Haryana Additional DGP Y Puran Kumar was “not only shocking but also a horrific testament to social injustice, inhumanity, and insensitivity”, while Rahul claimed that “hatred and Manuvadi ideology” of BJP-RSS have “filled society with venom” and “Dalits, tribals, backward classes, and Muslims” are “gradually losing hope for justice”.

Both leaders also referred to the lynching of Hari, a Dalit, in Raebareli and the attempted shoe throwing at Chief Justice of India B R Gavai earlier this month.

In his post on ‘X’, Kharge said the “BJP's ‘Manuvadi’ system has become a “curse for the SC, ST, OBC, and weaker sections” and in the last 11 years, the BJP has so “deeply entrenched the ‘Manuvadi’ mentality in this country that even a Dalit officer of ADGP rank does not receive justice or a fair hearing”.

Citing the defence of the attempted attack on the CJI by the “BJP's ecosystem” citing casteism and religion, he said, one must now know that the slogan of “Sab ka Saath” (with everyone) was a “crude joke”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi “cannot even utter two words of condemnation” following the lynching of an unarmed Dalit because of the “exploitative habit of the ‘Manuvadi’ mentality”, that cannot be changed so quickly, he said.

“This is not just the tragedy of a few individuals – it is a mirror of the unjust system fostered by the BJP and RSS, which has repeatedly crushed the self-respect of Dalits, Adivasis, backward classes, and minorities. This is fatal for the Constitution and democracy,” he said.

Rahul said Kumar’s suicide is a “symbol of deepening social poison” which is “crushing humanity in the name of caste”.

“When an IPS officer has to endure humiliation and oppression because of his caste - then imagine, in what conditions an ordinary Dalit citizen must be living. The murder of Hariom Valmiki...the insult to the Chief Justice...and now Puran-ji's death – these incidents show that injustice against the deprived classes has reached its peak," he said.

“This struggle is not just Puran-ji's – it is of every Indian who believes in the Constitution, equality, and justice,” he added.