Call to protect rights of Daltis, minorities, workers

Eluru: Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch (RDAM) national president and Gujarat Dalit Movement leader Jignesh Mavani called upon the people to wage a united fight for protection of rights of Dalits, minorities and workers in the country.

Highlights:

• Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch national president and Gujarat Dalit Movement leader Jignesh Mayani alleges that the BJP-led NDA govt is surrendering country’s assets to corporate forces
• Says the NDA govt is following policies of oppression

He alleged that the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cheated the people with its policies which were paving the way for surrendering of the country’s assets to the corporate forces.

He participated as a chief guest at a State-level seminar organised by the Civil Liberties Committee (CLC) here on Monday. CLC State assistant secretary N Srimannarayana presided over the seminar.

Speaking on the occasion, Jignesh said that at present oppression is continuing against the Dalits in the country. “The untouchability, humiliation, oppression, discrimination and attacks are going on unabatedly on the Dalits,” he pointed out. All sections of people should unite to oppose these oppression methods of BJP-led Centre, he said.

Citing the Gujarat incident when Narendra Modi was the State’s Chief Minister, Jignesh said that under the rule of Modi, Gujarat Muslims and Dalits had faced oppression.

Now, after BJP came to power in the country, the attacks on the Dalits were going on under the guise of cow protection. People who were questioning the government were being targeted, he alleged.

He also alleged that the recent killing of senior journalist and woman activist Gouri Lankesh in Bangalore is an instance of the intolerance of the BJP and the Hindu forces.

The Gujarat Dalit leader said that no one should divide the class struggle and the caste struggle separately, but both struggles should be combined to achieve the goal and the progressive forces should come forward for this key factor, he added.

The existence struggles which are in various ways should come on a single way to fight against the feudalism and religious forces. He appealed to all the forces to unite to take up Maha Padayatra on November 26, the Indian Constitution Day and reach Vijayawada by December 6, Dr BR Ambedkar death anniversary, and raise the voice on the rights of Dalits, Muslims and working class.

CPI-ML New Democracy leaders U Venkateswara Rao, CPM leader GV Narasimha Rao, CPI leader Bandi Venkateswara Rao, MCPI leader S Nagaraju, BSP leader Netala Ramesh, Muslim leaders Ismail Sheriff, CLC district president P Ravi Kumar, secretary KV Ratnam and others addressed the seminar.

The seminar has resolved to fight until justice was done to Dalits at Garagaparru, Agiripalli and Devarapalli.