Rahul Gandhi Meets Maharashtra Dalit Activist's Family, BJP Says "Drama"

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today visited Maharashtra's Parbhani today and met the family of a Dalit activist who died in custody. Activist-lawyer Somnath Suryawanshi died after he was arrested in connection with the violence over alleged vandalism of a replica of the Constitution. Mr Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, landed in Nanded airport and proceeded to Parbhani.

"I met the family and those who were assaulted. I was shown the postmortem report, photographs and videos. This is custodial death. Police killed him. The Chief Minister lied in Assembly to send a message to cops. This youth was killed because he was a Dalit and was protecting the Constitution. RSS' ideology is to finish the Constitution. We want this matter to be probed and those guilty to be be punished," he said after meeting the family.

The alleged vandalism on December 10 sparked violence and around 300 people, most of them Dalits, were taken into custody. Suryawanshi, 35, was among them. Three days later, he was found dead in judicial custody.

The death has sparked a massive row, with the Opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi targeting the Devendra Fadnavis government. Mr Fadnavis has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the activist's family. In his response to a question on his death, the Chief Minister has said when Suryavanshi was produced in court, the magistrate asked him if police had tortured him. He replied in the negative, the Chief Minister said.

The family, however, has demanded a death sentence for the police officer concerned. "The police didn't give any information regarding my brother after they arrested him. On December 15, they informed me that my brother died of a heart attack. Those involved in this incident must be punished. Suspending them is of no use. They should be punished because they have killed my brother. We want them to hang till death. We will say the same to Rahul Gandhi," Premnath Suryawanshi, the activist's brother, told news agency ANI.

Mr Gandhi's visit has, meanwhile, drawn jabs from rival parties. State BJP has termed it a "drama". "Instead of doing such drama, the focus should be on how society can benefit through constructive means," state BJP chief and minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said.

BSP chief Mayawati has taken a swipe, saying that Mr Gandhi's visit is only to shed "crocodile tears" and that the Congress remembers Dalits only in their bad times.

"Unfortunate incidents like Parbhani happened as a result of disrespect/insult towards the original architect of the Indian Constitution, the most revered Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar and the feeling of inferiority towards his crores of followers. It is proved that Congress and BJP are not their true well-wishers, everyone's intentions and policies are flawed," Mayawati said in a post on X.

Referring to Mr Gandhi's visit, she said, "The Congress leader's visit today to Parbhani is nothing more than shedding crocodile tears. The Congress' attitude towards the interests and welfare of Babasaheb and his followers has always been casteist and contemptuous, both during his lifetime and after his death. They remember the Dalits and backward classes only in their bad times."

Mr Gandhi's visit to Parbhani comes against the backdrop of the massive row surrounding Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on Dalit icon and architect of the Constitution BR Ambedkar.

Addressing the House during the debate to mark 75 years of the Constitution, Mr Shah said taking BR Ambedkar's name had become a "fashion" now. "Abhi ek fashion ho gaya hai - Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar. Itna naam agar bhagwan ka lete to saat janmon tak swarg mil jata (It has become a fashion to say Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar'. If they took God's name so many times, they would have got a place in heaven)," he said.

The Home Minister added, "Take his name 100 times more, but I want to say what are your sentiments about him." He said BR Ambedkar had to resign from the first Cabinet following his disagreement with the Jawaharlal Nehru-led government. "Ambedkar ji has said several times that he was not satisfied with the treatment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes," he said, adding that BR Ambedkar was also unhappy with the government's policy approach and its stand on Article 370. "He wanted to quit (the cabinet), he was given an assurance, and when the assurance was not fulfilled, he resigned," Mr Shah said.

Opposition parties have alleged that the Home Minister had insulted the Dalit icon and demanded an apology and his resignation. The Home Minister has hit back, accusing the Congress of twisting his words and misleading people.