Una flogging protesters continue to face cases

Manas Dasgupta

Ahmedabad, October 19

Despite claiming itself to be sympathiser of the Dalits, the BJP government in Gujarat has turned deaf ears to the pleas of the Dalit leaders to withdraw the police cases against those holding rallies and other agitational programmes to protest the Una flogging by the self-styled “cow protectors” some two years ago.

Soon after the flogging by “gau rakshaks” of four Dalit youths while skinning a dead cow in Mota Samadhiyala village near Una in Junagadh district in July, 2016, the Dalit organisations had organised demonstrations and several programmes in various parts of the state.

Some of the rallies had turned violent too and the police had registered 74 cases against the Dalit protesters which till date had remained pending.

Several Dalit leaders had represented before the state government to withdraw the criminal cases against the Dalits. Social Justice Minister Ishwar Parmar had also written to Minister of State for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja on June 13, last year, and again on July 24, this year, requesting him to direct the police stations concerned to withdraw the 74 cases, but the Home Ministry, which is headed by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, had not given any response so far. Jadeja in fact told mediapersons yesterday that he was not even aware about the existence of the cases.