Modi govt has snatched rights of Dalits: Sonia Gandhi

New Delhi, Jul 20: Berating the Modi government over attacks on Dalits in Gujarat, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today said it is an example of "social terror" condoned by the ruling dispensation.

With Dalits in Gujarat protesting the brutal assault on fellow community members on July 11 for allegedly skinning a cow in Una in Gir-Somnath district, she said the Gujarat case is "just one example of the social terror this government condones".

The Congress chief accused the government of snatching the rights of Dalits and adivasis, specifically citing the Gujarat incident where four Dalits were beaten and humiliated publicly. Dalit protests in Gujarat have spread to several parts of the state including Ahmedabad unleashing violence in which a head constable was killed in stone pelting and state transport buses attacked.

Three more members of the community have also allegedly attempted suicide. The Congress has also demanded a probe by a sitting High Court judge into the Una incident.

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel had tweeted, "Failure of authorities to protect Dalits in Gujarat is absolutely shocking. Is it the Gujarat model? Independent probe is need of the hour".

PTI