Mayawati says condition of Dalits, Adivasis pitiable in Gujarat:

Four Dalit youths were brutally thrashed by 'cow vigilantes' at Una in Gir Somnath district of Gujarat in July last year.

Lucknow, Apr 28: With Gujarat gearing up for the assembly elections later this year, BSP chief Mayawati on Friday alleged Dalits were living in pitiable condition in the state and that they should "unite and uproot" the BJP in the upcoming polls.

"The condition of Dalits, Adivasis (tribals) and the poor among the 'sarva samaj' is very bad in Gujarat...the capitalists and the rich are ruling the roost...social fabric there has been disturbed...there is excessive discrimination with the Muslims and they have no place to get justice," she said.

Mayawati was speaking at the review meeting of her party's Gujarat unit here. "If the deprived sections there (in Gujarat) unite on the basis of mutual brotherhood and contest the coming Assembly elections, they can oust the communal and casteist BJP," she said.

Though admitting that the number of Dalits in the western state was less, the BSP supremo said the Una incident had forced the community to question the establishment. Four Dalit youths were brutally thrashed by 'cow vigilantes' at Una in Gir Somnath district of Gujarat in July last year.

The incident had led to massive protest in various parts of the country. Issuing instructions to party workers for the Gujarat polls, Mayawati said her party will fight for the rights of the Adivasis to end their harassment.

PTI