Politics of intimidation against Dalits, backwards poses threat to democracy: Cong on IPS officer's 'suicide'

New Delhi, Oct 10 (PTI) Stepping up the attack on the BJP over the alleged suicide of an IPS officer in Haryana due to caste discrimination, the Congress on Friday claimed that crimes against Dalits and other weaker sections of the society are on the rise under the current dispensation and said this politics of intimidating and suppressing marginalised groups poses a serious threat to democracy.

Citing the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said between 2013 and 2023, there was a 46-per cent increase in crimes against Dalits and that crimes against Adivasis rose by 91 per cent during the period, while former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said IPS officer Y Puran Kumar's suicide is a symbol of that deepening social poison which is crushing humanity in the name of caste.

"Caste discrimination against an IPS officer in Haryana, the harassment of Hariom Valmiki, the attack on the CJI and the BJP mindset justifying it, and the atrocities against elderly Dalit woman Kamla Devi Raigar in Sawai Madhopur district of BJP-ruled Rajasthan.... All these recent incidents are not just isolated events, but a dangerous manifestation of the RSS-BJP's feudal mindset.

"This chain of events is a direct assault on the fundamental principles of India's Constitution, social justice and equality. This politics of intimidating and suppressing Dalits, backward classes, Adivasis, and marginalised communities poses a serious threat to democracy. India will be governed by the Constitution, not by the decrees of any extremist ideology," Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.

He claimed that Dalits, Adivasis, backward classes, minorities and other weaker sections of the society are bearing the brunt of this, and "you are keeping your eyes shut to these issues while remaining engrossed in your own spectacles".

Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X that "the suicide of Haryana's IPS officer Y Puran Kumarji is a symbol of that deepening social poison which is crushing humanity in the name of caste".

"When an IPS officer has to endure humiliation and oppression because of his caste -- then imagine in what conditions an ordinary Dalit citizen must be living," the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha added.

The killing of Hariom Valmiki in Uttar Pradesh's Rae Bareli, the insult to the chief justice of India and now, Kumar's death are incidents that show that injustice against the deprived classes has reached its peak, he claimed.

"The hatred and Manuvadi ideology of BJP-RSS have filled the society with venom. Dalits, tribals, backward classes and Muslims are gradually losing hope for justice.

"This struggle is not just of Puranji's -- it is of every Indian who believes in the Constitution, equality and justice," Gandhi said in his post.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also said in a post on X that the entire country is shocked by the suicide of Kumar, who was allegedly troubled by caste-based harassment.

"The ongoing chain of injustice, atrocities and violence against Dalits across the country is terrifying.

"First, the killing of Hariom Valmikiji in Rae Bareli, then the insult to the chief justice and now, the suicide of a senior officer -- this proves that the BJP rule has become a curse for Dalits. Whether it is an ordinary citizen or someone in a high position, if they belong to the Dalit community, injustice and inhumanity do not leave them alone. If this is the condition of Dalits in high positions, just imagine the circumstances in which the common Dalit society must be living," she said in her post in Hindi.

The body of Kumar (52), a 2001-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, was found with a gunshot wound at his Chandigarh residence on Tuesday.

A note left behind by Kumar has named "senior officers" and detailed the "mental harassment" and humiliation he faced over the last few years, according to sources. PTI SKC RC