SC/ST stamps on police aspirants’ chest: Rahul Gandhi attacks BJP over ‘casteist mentality’, Mayawati questions PM Modi’s silence

Opposition parties on Monday lashed out at the BJP over the labelling of the candidates for the post of police constables with their respective caste on their chest during a medical examination in Madhya Pradesh on Monday. Congress president Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on both the BJP and the RSS, accusing them of “attacking the Constitution” through their acts. Taking to Twitter, Rahul said, “The casteist mentality of the BJP government has stabbed the country on its chest. By writing SC/ST on the chest of the youth of Madhya Pradesh, it has attacked the Constitution.” “This is the thinking of BJP/RSS. This thinking earlier led to tying “handi” (small earthen pot) to their neck, led to tying broom to the body, did not allow them to enter temples. We will defeat this mentality,” he added. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, meanhwile, questioned the “silence” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top BJP leaders and said the incident was “only a fresh example of the saffron party’s newfound love for Dalits for their political gains”. “Does it suit the BJP and company, and the prime minister himself, to remain silent, (and) not to condemn such a casteist incident,” she asked. While demanding stringent action against the officials concerned, Mayawati said the Centre must issue strict orders to avoid recurrence of such incidents. Calling the incident a “criminal act”, Mayawati said it was because of the “casteist” attitude towards the Dalits, tribals and other backward classes that forced people to embrace another religion. The BSP leader was referring to the conversion from Hinduism to Buddhism by a group of Dalits, who were allegedly assaulted by a group of cow vigilantes in Una (Gujarat) last year. “The BJP needs to realise that besides self-respect, Dalits are also vigilant towards their interests and will never fall into the trap of anyone’s allurements,” she said. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also condemned the incident and described it as “shameful”. While reiterating the demand for a probe, NCP MP Supriya Sule said, “It is extremely shameful that during police recruitment in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, the candidates were marked as SC, OBC, ST on their chest.” “The PMO should probe the incident,” she added. The Dhar incident triggered a controversy after the candidates from the reserved categories were stamped with their caste identification on their bare chests during the three-day medical examination process at the Dhar district hospital. Candidates from the general category were, however, not labelled. While sources claimed the caste stamps were used to avoid confusion among candidates – as height and chest measurement norms are different for constables belonging to general and reserved categories – Dalit leaders in the state have sought arrests of the guilty under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Dhar’s Superintendent of Police Veerendra Singh told The Indian Express that an inquiry has been ordered into the matter as the labelling was not authorised by any competent authority. Calling the incident a “mental torture”, Dalit leader Mohan Patil said, “Even if reserved category police officials were present (as claimed by the SP) they must have done the marking as instructed by someone senior.” He too demanded that all responsible for the caste profiling of the constables be booked under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Source: Indian Express