Cong extends Dalit outreach plan in UP till December end

Lucknow: Seeking to further connect with the Dalit community ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress has decided to extend its ongoing Dalit outreach programme in Uttar Pradesh till December end. The ‘Dalit Gaurav Samvad’ which started on October 9 --- the death anniversary of BSP founder Kanshiram --- was earlier scheduled to end on Sunday to coincide with Constitution Day. “In view of the positive response received during the Samvad, we have decided to extend it further, so that we could reach out to every Dalit household in the state.

This Samvad will continue till December end,” Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai told PTI. Addressing a Samvad in Sarojininagar assembly constituency here on Saturday, Rai had charged that, “Dalits are being targeted and killed under the BJP government in the state.

The BJP government is saving criminals. The (BJP) government stood with criminals in the atrocities committed on Dalits in various districts, including Hathras, Umbha (Sonbhadra), Lakhimpur Kheri, Azamgarh, Prayagraj, Kaushambi and Bahraich.” Rai claimed there is no district in Uttar Pradesh where Dalits are feeling safe under the BJP government. “An attempt is being made to create an atmosphere of fear, we are fighting against it. This dialogue is a fight for the honour, self-respect and rights of Dalits, and we will continue this further. We will not allow the anti-Dalit mentality of BJP and RSS to succeed in Uttar Pradesh,” Rai said.

Elaborating further on the Samvad, organisation secretary of UP Congress Anil Yadav, told PTI, “Under the Samvad, the party plans to reach out to one lakh influential Dalit persons, be it teachers, lawyers, village pradhans or others. And they had to fill up a ‘Dalit adhikaar maang patra’. So far, more than 86,000 people have filled up that form. The Samvad has evoked a positive response from the people, and we are now extending it.” “Initially, we had thought of holding Dalit ‘chaupals’ (meetings) in 10 villages under each of the 403 assembly constituencies in the state. Seeing their response, we have now decided to increase the number of villages to 20. Now, chaupals are being held, and more than 8,000 villages in the state will be covered through this,” Yadav said, and added this is also one of the reasons of extending the Samvad.