‘If I am not elected as MLA, I will become a Muslim,’ Congress Dalit leader ‘threatens’ BJP government

Gujarat Congress Dalit Leader: Gujarat Congress Dalit leader has said that if action is not taken against the BJP MLA and her husband, the whole family will convert to Islam. Congress Dalit leader Rajesh Solanki, who has talked about converting to Islam, is the president of Junagadh city SC/ST cell. He is also the chief of Junagadh district Scheduled Caste Society.

Gujarat Congress Dalit Leader: Congress’ Junagadh city SC/ST cell president Rajesh Solanki has said that if action is not taken against the BJP MLA and her husband, he will convert to Islam along with his family. Rajesh Solanki is also the chief of Junagadh district Scheduled Caste Society, which is an informal organization of the Dalit community. His son Sanjay Solanki is a leader of Congress’ student wing National Students Union of India (NSUI).

The president of the Junagadh city SC/ST cell of the Congress said that if the BJP government in Gujarat does not demand the resignation of its MLA and arrest her husband, her entire family and many others from the Dalit community will convert to Islam. Rajesh Solanki alleges that his son Sanjay Solanki was allegedly attacked by BJP MLA Gitaba Jadeja’s son in May.

Gitaba Jadeja’s son Jyotiraditya Singh alias Ganesh has been arrested for the alleged attack on Sanjay. On Wednesday, Rajesh Solanki went to the Junagadh district collector’s office and took application forms from the state government to seek permission to convert. The move comes days after he spoke to the media on July 6, when he said that he and around 150 members of the Solanki family would convert to Islam if the BJP government did not take action against Gitaba and her husband Jayraj Singh Jadeja.

Rajesh gave the government an ultimatum till August 15

Rajesh demanded that the BJP should seek Gitaba’s resignation by August 15. Also, Jairajsingh should be booked under IPC section 120B (criminal conspiracy) for his alleged role in the attack on Sanjay on the night of May 30 and 31. The case was registered against Jyotiraditya Singh (25) on May 31 after Sanjay (26) filed a police complaint alleging that Jyotiraditya Singh and others abducted him from Junagadh following a dispute over the MLA’s son’s driving.

Sanjay alleged in the complaint that the accused took him to Gondal in Rajkot district, threatened him with a pistol, stripped him and forced him to apologise while recording it on a mobile phone. The police then arrested Jyotiraditya Singh and 10 others on charges of attempt to murder and under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. All the accused are currently in judicial custody. However, Sanjay’s father Rajesh alleged that Jyotiraditya Singh’s father Jayraj Singh, who has been a three-time MLA from Gondal, was also involved in the conspiracy to kidnap and attack Sanjay.

5000 incidents of atrocities against Dalits in BJP’s 25 years of rule: Rajesh

Rajesh told media persons outside the Collector’s office on Wednesday that the BJP has been ruling Gujarat for the last 25 years and during this period at least 5,000 incidents of atrocities against Dalits have been reported. The victims of Una atrocities have not got justice even after eight years. It is the duty of the Gujarat government to protect the citizens, but Gondal Ganesh, who is the son of the sitting MLA and former MLA, kidnapped my son.

Rajesh told that if the government and BJP do not listen to us and do not agree to our demands, then we will lead a massive rally. He said that we will submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister, Governor and BJP President demanding justice for Dalits. If the government does not take any action even after this, we will convert to Islam, because it would not be wise to remain a part of a religion whose members break our back, but who are happy to marry their daughters to those who offer Namaaz and refuse to accept us as Hindus.

Rajesh Solanki was earlier a member of BJP

Rajesh Solanki was earlier a member of BJP. In 2004, he was elected to the Junagadh Municipal Corporation on a BJP ticket. In 2009, he joined the Congress. He won the local body elections in 2009 and 2014, although he faced defeat in 2019. On the other hand, Junagadh Resident Additional Collector NF Chaudhary confirmed that Rajesh had collected application forms for religious conversion. He said that however, we have not received any filled form from him yet. He also said that the Gujarat Religious Freedom Act gives the District Magistrate the power to find out whether a person wants to convert under pressure or whether someone is luring a person to convert.

Courtesy: Hindi News