Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday hit out at his Gujarat counterpart Anandiben Patel while accusing the BJP-led government in the state of preaching anti-Dalit propaganda and creating divide between the police and people.
Kejriwal yesterday met the families affected by anti-Dalit violence in Una's Mota Samadhiyala village and inquired about their condition.
The AAP supremo also visited the family of a policeman, who was killed during violent protests in Amreli earlier this week.
"I met the victims and their families in Una. One thing is very clear that goons of the BJP and Shiv Sena brutally assaulted the Dalits and thrashed them even at the police station. The police also did not take any action as the BJP is in power," Kejriwal told reporters.
"After that when the Dalits sat in protest, Chief Minister Anandiben Patel stopped their protest and used police force to threaten them. The police registered fake cases against the Dalit youths and locked them inside the prison...It is not the first time that this has happened. Earlier also, Anandiben used the police force to threaten people during the Patidar Andolan," he added.
The Delhi Chief Minister urged his Gujarat counterpart to ensure that the culprits are arrested at the earliest and stringent action is taken against them.
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"It seems that she doesn't want to arrest the culprits as they are from her own party. I want to appeal to the entire police department that they should not accept the wrong orders of the Chief Minister and should cooperate with the people and not register any fake cases," he said.
Kejriwal's visit to Gujarat is being seen as preparing the ground for his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the assembly polls in the state next year.
Some persons claiming to be 'gau rakshak' (cow protectors) thrashed seven Dalit men in Una last week alleging that they had killed a cow which they were skinning. The victims claimed that they were skinning the cow which had died of natural causes.
The video of the incident went viral, sparking protests.
