Dalits are at the centre of news these days. The politicians supporting their causes have become quite vocal at present. That’s why there was a surge in the support to the oppressed people.
Sometimes, it is Mayawati who speaks in their support in Uttar Pradesh. On another occasion, Jitan Ram Manjhi raised his voice in support of the Dalits in Bihar. Both of them were up in arms against the ruling government at both the state level and the Centre over the harassment of Dalits.
If one leader emphasises on the disdain for Ambedkar’s ideals in one state, the other strongly resents the Dalits’ mistreatment in the name of prohibition in an adjacent state. Their voices certainly hold a lot of importance for they represent the causes of the downtrodden people.
Jitan Ram Manjhi, president of the National Awami Party, criticised Nitish Kumar for the poor treatment of Dalits in the name of prohibition. Making his own displeasure felt, he warned the Bihar government not to torture the Dalits on the pretext of imposing liquor laws sternly.
He said, “More than 1 lakh people are presently in jail for cases related to liquor and majority of them are from the oppressed Dalit community.”
He was totally unhappy with the way the Dalit community had been treated by the state.
Manjhi was also vocal about the difference in attitude when conducting the test of the boozers, depending on their caste. The Dalits were put behind the bars while the administrative personalities were not being touched upon. He said that the bureaucrats and senior officials were consuming liquor freely despite the liquor law being in place.
He even challenged the state government for not conducting the breath-analyser test on ministers and other bureaucrats. If that was done, the reality behind the prohibition would surely be exposed, he stressed.