BHOPAL: Lower-rung workers and leaders continue to cause embarrassment for the ruling BJP due to atrocities on tribals and Dalits in assembly poll-bound Madhya Pradesh.
The latest incident has been reported from eastern MP’s Anuppur district, where a 57-year-old tribal man who had lost his close friend in a road accident, was beaten with slippers in full public view, by a BJP youth wing leader on Tuesday.
The incident happened in Bairibandh Jamudi area of Anuppur district on Tuesday when two tribal men Bhoma Singh Marawi (60) and a close relative Barnu Singh Markam (57) were travelling on a motorcycle. Suddenly a speeding mini-truck hit the duo on the motorbike, resulting in the instant death of Marawi.
The local residents rushed to the spot to enquire about the incident. Two men, including Jaiganesh Dixit (a local BJP’s youth wing Bhartiya Yuva Janata Morcha-BJYM leader) and Jitendra Kushwah, rushed to the spot and started enquiring about the identity of the deceased from totally shocked Barnu Singh.
Not getting a reply from the totally shocked Barnu Singh about the identity of the deceased, the two men, including the BJYM leader beat up the shocked tribal with slippers in full public view, close to the Marawi’s body.
The entire shocking act of the BJYM leader beating up the shocked tribal man with slippers, without caring for his relative’s loss, was caught on camera and the resultant video later circulated over social media. The viral video caused huge embarrassment for the BJP already battling with other recent incidents of assault on tribals and Dalits by its workers and leaders, ultimately compelling the ruling party’s Anuppur district unit to sack Dixit from all his BJYM District Mandal head’s post and party membership.
According to Anuppur additional SP (ASP) Shiv Kumar Singh, an FIR has been registered under IPC Sections 294, 323 and 34, besides provisions of SC/ST (Atrocities Prevention) Act against the two accused Jaiganesh Dixit and Jitendra Kushwah on the complaint the victim Barnu Singh Markam and investigations are underway.
The latest incident gave fresh ammo to the Congress (which has been under continued attack by the BJP leaders on the anti-Sanatan Dharma remarks issue) to target the ruling party on growing atrocities against the tribals and Dalits in the state.
Sharing the shocking video on the social media platform X, the state Congress president Kamal Nath, wrote, “What do you (CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan) want? Have you given BJP workers the license to unleash atrocities on tribals? If you (CM) can’t stop atrocities from happening on tribals, then you should resign as state’s CM.”
Former union minister Kantilal Bhuria (also the state party’s election campaign committee head) also condemned the incident. Further, the party’s national general secretary in charge for the poll-bound state Randeep Singh Surjewala, while addressing a press conference in Bhopal over the issue, recounted the details of at least eight brutal incidents of crime against tribals in MP since May 2022. Seconding Kamal Nath’s demand, Surjewala too demanded the CM’s resignation.
Importantly, the BJP has been under continued attack by the Congress over recent incidents of atrocities against tribals by BJP men or supporters of the ruling party leaders in MP.
On July 4, a shocking video of the 2019 incident of one Pravesh Shukla peeing on a poor tribal man Dashmath Rawat in Sidhi district went viral, causing national outrage.
The same month, local BJP MLA Ramlalu Vaishya’s son Vivek Vaishya opened fire on a tribal man Surya Prakash Khairwar in Singrauli district.
In August, a Dalit youth Nitin Ahirwar was murdered, and his mother was stripped and assaulted by powerful upper caste, OBC and minority community men over his refusal to withdraw a case of sexual harassment. The Congress alleged that those involved were supporters of local MLA and MP minister Bhupendra Singh.
Earlier this month, a Dalit chowkidar Ram Swarup Ahirwar (who tried stopping fencing on government land) in a village on Bhopal’s outskirts was kidnapped by the village sarpanch’s husband Sheru Meena (supporter of local BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma) and aides. Not only was Ahirwar kidnapped and beaten beyond imagination, but the BJP leader also allegedly urinated on him.
