Environment of hatred, atrocities against Dalits, Adivasis has steadily intensified in Gujarat: Rahul - The Tribune

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday alleged that the environment of hatred, discrimination and atrocities against the Dalit and Adivasi communities in Gujarat had steadily intensified under the BJP government.

The leader of opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha also expressed solidarity with the victims of the 2016 Una flogging case and vowed to continue to amplify their voices until justice is served.

Gandhi made the remarks on social media while putting out a video of his recent interaction with a delegation of representatives from the Dalit and Adivasi communities from Gujarat, including those affected by the Una incident, in which self-proclaimed cow vigilantes flogged four youths.

“This meeting was deeply distressing and gave me much pause for reflection,” he said in his post accompanied by the video.

The flogging incident had occurred in Mota Samadhiyala village near Una town of Gir-Somnath district on July 11, 2016, when four Dalit youths, as part of their traditional profession, were skinning the carcass of a cow that had died earlier in some other village.

The accused, self-proclaimed cow vigilantes, flogged the youths, who were then illegally put in the lockup and thrashed by police personnel as well. “About 10 years ago, the Una incident shook the entire nation to its core.

Dalit youths were publicly stripped and brutally beaten. At that time, I stood in solidarity with their families,” Gandhi said in his post on Hindi.

“However, it is deeply unfortunate that even a decade later, they have yet to receive justice; their wounds remain unhealed, and, on the contrary, the situation has only deteriorated further,” he said.