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Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge — Tuesday condemned the “brutal and cruel murder of a Dalit man in Rae Bareli and said the incident is a “grave crime” against the country’s Constitution.
In a joint statement, the Leaders of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, said: “Our country has a Constitution that recognizes every individual with a sense of equality. There is a law that grants equal status to the safety, rights, and expression of every citizen. What happened in Raebareli is a grave crime against the Constitution of this country. It is a crime against the Dalit community and a stain on this nation and society.”
The leaders expressed concerns over increase in the number of crimes against Dalits, minorities, and the poor in the country, and said this disproportionately affects the deprived, marginalised, and those who lack adequate representation or participation.
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“Be it the crimes against women in Hathras and Unnao, the murder of Hariom in Raebareli, or earlier, the institutional murder of Rohith Vemula, the inhuman incident of a leader urinating on a tribal youth in Madhya Pradesh, the brutal beating of Dalits in Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, or the murders of Pehlu Khan in Haryana and Akhlaq in Uttar Pradesh—every incident is a mirror reflecting the growing insensitivity of our society, administration, and ruling powers.”
Targeting the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, the Congress leaders alleged that “trends” like mob lynching, bulldozer injustice, and mob rule since 2014 have become the “terrifying hallmarks of our times”.
“Violence cannot be a hallmark of any civilised society, and what happened to Hariom is a profound question mark on our collective morality.
A 38-year-old Dalit man was allegedly lynched by local villagers in Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli who suspected him of being a “drone chor”, amid widespread rumours across the state that people are using drones to target homes for theft.
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The incident took a political turn, with the Congress targeting the BJP government over the incident, calling it a failure of law and order. Leader of Opposition and Raebareli MP Rahul Gandhi spoke to the family of the victim, Hariom, over the phone, while Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai visited their home in Fatehpur and assured the family of the party’s support.
On Tuesday, Kharge and Gandhi stated that the Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi’s India is identifies with social justice, equality, and compassion.
“Humanity is the only path forward. The Congress Party is committed to the empowerment of the deprived and weaker sections of society. We call upon citizens to unite against this injustice. This fight must continue until the rights and dignity of every Indian’s life are fully protected.
