Congress and Bahujan organizations will do this together against Gujarat collector who called Dalit “slipper beating worthy”…

The party is pressing for disciplinary action along with Dalit and Bahujan organizations. The matter which started as a local incident has now turned into a nationwide movement against casteist behavior in public administration.

Geetha Sunil Pillai

New Delhi – The alleged casteist remarks of a senior IAS officer in Gujarat have become a major political controversy, leading the Congress party to launch a nationwide campaign demanding his immediate dismissal from service. The party aims to send a strong message that casteist behavior will not be tolerated from government employees in the administration.

Neha Kumari, the district collector of Mahisagar in Gujarat, is at the center of a growing controversy. She allegedly told a Dalit youth during a government program that he “deserve to be beaten with a slipper, ha#$mi*xla” and allegedly used derogatory words. The controversy deepened when he allegedly claimed that 90% of the cases registered under the SC/ST Atrocities Prevention Act were only tools for blackmail, which has been strongly criticized by Dalit rights activists and political leaders across the country.

In fact, Vijay Parmar, who is a Dalit law student, told about this incident that he had gone to the collector in connection with one of his complaints. He said that the collector termed 90 percent of the atrocities cases as a ploy of blackmailing. Vijay says that this statement reflects the casteist mindset of the collector and it clearly reflects his ill will towards Dalits.

Agitated by this incident that took place on October 23, the Congress party has devised a strategy to protest by uniting its state units across India in this matter. Rajesh Lilothia, the national president of the party’s SC department, on November 11 issued a comprehensive directive to the SC department presidents in all the states to take immediate action against the IAS officer.

In his official communication, Lilothia stressed that the fundamental duty of public servants is to protect all citizens, especially those from marginalised communities. He argued that a bureaucrat with such an alleged casteist mindset is inherently unfit to work as a public servant.

The party has said that in support of these serious allegations, they have video evidence of the incident. In this viral video, the collector described 90 per cent of the atrocities cases as a means of ‘blackmailing’ and said that most women also file fake cases under 498A. Apart from this, he also commented on lawyers, using words like “chappal khol kar maaran” (to beat them with chappal).

Lillothia has directed all the state presidents of the party’s SC department to lodge a formal complaint against Neha Kumari, submit a memorandum to the respective state governors and demand the immediate dismissal of the IAS officer.

The party is now coordinating with Dalit and Bahujan organisations to press for disciplinary action, turning what started as a local incident into a nationwide movement against casteist behaviour in public administration.

Copies of the letter have also been sent to prominent Congress leaders, including the Congress president, K.C. Venugopal (General Secretary, Organisation, AICC), K. Raju (National Coordinator SC, ST, OBC and Minority Department), and all national coordinators of the SC Department, AICC.

Through this coordinated effort, the Congress party seeks to set a clear example that casteist behaviour from public servants within the administrative set-up will not be tolerated, and emphasises the need for immediate and decisive action in such cases.

Jignesh Mevani, MLA from Vadgam in Gujarat, has shared the letter publicly on Twitter, indicating widespread political support for action against the officer.

Courtesy : Hindi News