'Yogi's bulldozer operates after considering caste and religion': Congress slams BJP over Dalit woman killing

New Delhi: Congress on Monday launched a scathing attack on the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the killing of a Dalit woman and abduction of her daughter in Meerut, claiming that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s “bulldozer” operates only if the criminals are Dalits, tribals and OBCs.

Party's Scheduled Caste (SC) department chairperson Rajendra Pal Gautam also said hatred is being fueled using caste and religion under BJP governments' patronage.

He alleged that Adityanath's "bulldozer" often operates only after considering caste and religion and when a Dalit is oppressed in the state, the bulldozer does not move.

Congress also protested in the national capital even as it accused the government of not permitting it by referring to the refusal of permission by police citing that the permission was not sought 10 days in advance.

"If a rape or murder happens anywhere in the country, then will we have to wait for 10 days to demand justice? If the government takes action in time and ensures punishment for the culprits, then we won't need to protest at all," Gautam said, adding it is clear that the government's method is to "suppress people's voices, it is against the Constitution".

"Hatred is being fueled in the country on the basis of caste and religion, and this is happening under the patronage of the BJP government. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi-ji is openly using resources to crush Dalits, tribals, and backward classes. Yogi's bulldozer often operates only after considering caste and religion. When a Dalit is oppressed in the state, their bulldozer does not move," he told reporters.

In Meerut, he said a girl was going towards the forest with her mother and that daughter was abducted, and when the mother came to save her, she was brutally murdered. "When we went to meet the victim's family, we were stopped. If the Uttar Pradesh police showed the same diligence in preventing crime and ensuring punishment for the guilty, crimes would stop happening altogether," he said.

Gautam claimed the highest number of cases of atrocities against Dalits have surfaced in Uttar Pradesh in the last five years.

"The situation is such that in the country's five BJP-ruled states -- Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Bihar -- 76 per cent of Dalit atrocity incidents occur. The shocking fact is that 26 per cent of Dalit atrocity incidents alone come to light in UP. It is clear that cases of crimes against Dalits are continuously increasing in BJP-ruled states, in which the police take no action," he said.