Madhya Pradesh Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Sumitra Valmiki has accused the Jabalpur district collector of discriminatory behaviour against her for being a ‘Dalit’.
The allegations came as Valmiki allegedly did not get a seat on the stage during the Yoga Day celebration on June 21 in Jalabalpur where vice president Jagdeep Dhankar was present as chief guest. According to Valmiki, she was called on the stage later but her chair was pushed back.
“I was not given any bouquet and also a proper seat on the stage because I am a Dalit,” Valmiki said.
“District collector Saurabh Suman deliberately insulted me because of my caste,” she alleged.
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Meanwhile, a protest was lodged by the MP’s supporters who burned the effigy of the collector on Friday. The Dalit leader has also written to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP state president VD Sharma regarding the same.
She said that she would also complain to the Ministry of AYUSH and would raise questions in Rajya Sabha as well.
Talking to local media persons, Valmiki said, “We (Dalits) have been tortured for centuries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to end this practice. He wants to give us equal status, but there are still some frustrated minds in society. As Nelson Mandela fought for apartheid throughout his life, Modi ji is also fighting for caste discrimination today.”
{{/usCountry}}Talking to local media persons, Valmiki said, “We (Dalits) have been tortured for centuries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to end this practice. He wants to give us equal status, but there are still some frustrated minds in society. As Nelson Mandela fought for apartheid throughout his life, Modi ji is also fighting for caste discrimination today.”
{{/usCountry}}On the allegation of the MP, district collector Saurabh Kumar Suman said that they were only following the action plan as given to them by the government. Suman also apologized to her.
Meanwhile, the Congress called the incident “an insult to the scheduled caste community”.
“They made a Dalit woman a Rajya Sabha MP for votes and politics. The purpose was never to give respect and equal rights to them. Union Ayush minister and the chief minister should apologize for that,” said Ajay Yadav, MP Congress spokesperson.