KOZHIKODE: Ms C.K Janu, Janadipathya Rashtreeya Sabha leader, has said that the state’s weak response to the Supreme Court verdict in the Soumya murder case was due to her Dalit identity. Speaking at a seminar on ‘Perspectives of Dalit politics’ ahead of the BJP national council meeting here on Monday, the tribal leader said that if Soumya was a non-Dalit, the state would have been burnt.
“Tribals and Dalits are the most deprived lot for centuries. Though interventions to uplift the community had been made for many years nothing significant has been achieved. Both the Left and Right front parties are equally responsible for the situation,” she said and called for a drastic change in the perception of common public towards tribals and Dalits. “Keralites should rise treat them on par with others. All political parties should strive for that,” she said.
She took a jibe at the Left Front saying, “they ignored the sane voices of the downtrodden community which caused the empowered individuals to move to the side where they found recognition.” BJP leader B. Gopalakrishnan, who spoke, claimed that the BJP-ruled states were far better in treating Dalits compared to other states. “The CPM is the accused in the cases of atrocities against Chithralekha and attacking Dalit sisters in Thalassery,” he alleged.
