Cautioning the Dalit community against NRC and CAA, Vijaykumar Salve, chief of Samata Sainik Dal of Solapur, has said that if Dalits do not protest against CAA and NRC, then there will come a time when Dalits would be asked to prove their citizenship.
“Do not be under the impression that NRC and CAA have nothing to do with Dalits. The core agenda of the BJP is to push Manuvada that discriminates against people on the basis of caste and gender. To achieve this, the BJP will not hesitate to bring in the required amendments to the Constitution. Therefore, it is time that Dalits joined hands with those opposing CAA and NRC,” he said.
He was speaking at the 202nd Bhima-Koregaon victory day of the Mahars (Dalits) over the Peshwas of Maharashtra organised by the district chapter of Buddhist Society of India at Buddha Vihar on Wednesday.
Stating that during the Koregaon battle the Dalits fought the Peshwas using weapons such as swords, he said that today, Dalits should fight people of a similar [Peshwas] mindset using the pen by treating it as a weapon.
“It is the pen that can act as the biggest weapon against the BJP government which is determined to divide the nation on caste lines and implement the ideas of Manusmiriti which was burnt by Ambedkar,” he said.
Accusing the BJP of trying to amend the basic principles of the Constitution, Mr. Salve asserted that just because the party has majority in Parliament, it cannot dare alter the Constitution.
“If the BJP has majority in Parliament, people have bigger strength to show to the BJP that it is trying to commit a grave mistake,” he said.
Raising the issue of CAA and NRC, Dalit leader, Chandrashekhar Kodabagi said that CAA has united a vast population of the nation against the BJP.
“The BJP was under the belief that it could implement any Act and people will sit quiet. In fact, the CAA has united Dalits and minorities,” he said.
Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of behaving like Prime Minister of the BJP and not of the nation, he said that Mr. Modi and his party leaders are trying to gag the voices of people.
“By describing their critics as Urban Naxals and anti-nationals, the BJP is making every effort to silent its critics. But people should keep fighting the BJP to keep the aspirations of the Constitution alive,” he said.
On the occasion, a special calendar published by veteran journalist Anil Hosmani on the important days of the Dalit movement was released.
