The spurt in cases of dalit atrocities in Uttar Pradesh has started giving anxious moments to the ruling BSP government in the state.
According to party sources, the BSP leadership is “deeply concerned” over the trend which, it feels, could cause irreparable damage to its base dalit vote bank. “Despite t
he stern directives issued by chief minister Mayawati form time to time, the increase in incidents of Dalit atrocities has not been effectively checked and we are certainly concerned over the issue,” confessed a senior party functionary.
The party is apparently perturbed over the “undue publicity” that such incidents receive and not without reason either — elections in UP are less than two years away and dalits continue to form the mainstay of the BSP.
Meanwhile, BSP strategists attribute the trend to “social imbalances” in the party and the government.
“Earlier, we were a dalit-based party and we focused on dalits and their welfare. Now the party is more broad-based and upper castes are also a part of the BSP. However, the Bahujan and Sarvjan have not been able to develop social harmony and often work at cross purposes. Even the bureaucracy has failed to strike a balance between the two and such incidents are a result of this. Wherever non-dalit officers are in power, such incidents tend to take place,” explained the party leader.
Ms Mayawati, according to party insiders, has asked BSP coordinators to keep an eye on such incidents and submit a report to the party. She has instructed top officials to check the trend at the earliest.
“The chief minister has repeatedly told the officers concerned to ensure that dalit atrocities, particularly those involving women, do not take place and that the offenders in such cases are sternly punished. However, the implementation of her directives is obviously lacking in some respects because it has not had the desired impact as yet,” the party functionary added.
The Mayawati government’s failure to check atrocities on dalits has, expectedly, been highlighted by the opposition that uses it to hit out at the government.
“Mayawati came to power on the strength of dalit votes but in her regime, dalits have been at the receiving end. A government that cannot protect the deprived sections of society has no right to remain in power,” says state BJP president Surya Pratap Shahi while the Samajwadi Party directly blames the chief minister for the growth in cases of crime against dalits. The Congress is using every opportunity to criticise Ms Mayawati on this issue.