Playing the Dalit card

Sir, - When Mohammed Azharuddin was accused of match-fixing he took some time before resorting to the cheap tactic of playing the minority card. But Mr. Bangaru Laxman did not even blink before proclaiming that the Dalit community was deeply hurt over his being sacked as BJP president. Who gave him the liberty to play with the Dalit sentiment? Is he entitled to accept bribes at the expense of national defence deals just because he is Dalit?

The Dalit community had not mandated him to commit the offence nor would his act in any way ameliorate their misery. Why should then Dalits be hurt? During his association with the BJP he did nothing for the uplift of Dalits. Here are a few cases.

In Uttar Pradesh, the caste Hindus of a village paraded a Dalit woman and her daughter naked. Shamelessly, a BJP MLA of the area went on a hunger strike to protest the arrest of the accused. In Rajasthan, a Dalit youth's nose was pierced and a thread tied to it. He was then dragged through the village just because he had asked a caste Hindu to pay the debt due to him. The family of the accused belongs to the BJP. Thousands of posts reserved for SCs and STs remain vacant. It is the NDA Government which dereserved three lakh backlog vacancies after the Fifth Pay Commission. Mr. Laxman's voice was not heard in any of the above issues. Still, he loudly proclaims to be the messiah of Dalits.

Prasant K. Mallick,

New Delhi

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