Shiva Ashtagi, district vice-president of BJP Youth Morcha, demanded the removal of Planning and Statistics Minister D. Sudhakar from the Council of Ministers for what he alleged was grabbing the lands of Dalits apart from unleashing atrocities on the victims.
In a media note released on Saturday, Mr. Ashtagi said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress party as a whole must prove their secular credentials by removing the tainted Minister from the Council of Ministers.
“The atrocities on Dalits are on the rise despite a Dalit [G. Parameshwara] being the Home Minister of the State. It is equally shameful on the part of Dalit organisations who remained silent on the issue,” Mr. Ashtagi said.
Condemning Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar for justifying Mr. Sudhakar, Mr. Ashtagi said that taking an oath on the Constitution of India and unleashing atrocities on Dalits after assuming power was an insult meted out to the Constitution of India.
“Congress often claims to be pro-Dalit. It had staged many agitations whenever atrocities on Dalits were reported during BJP rule. Now, the same Congress is protecting Mr. Sudhakar who is accused of atrocities on Dalits and grabbing Dalits’ lands,” Mr. Ashtagi said.
