If Bahujans Unite, Modi Govt Won’t Survive: Bhim Army Chief Aazad

Chandra Shekhar Aazad, in an interview to The Quint, explains why he appealed to Mayawati to join hands against BJP.

(Photo: Shiv Kumar Maurya/The Quint)

Camera Person: Shiv Kumar Maurya

Video Editor: Mohd Irshad Alam

Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad, who was recently released from jail a month after protests erupted against the Ravidas temple demolition in Delhi, told The Quint that he believes a united Bahujan movement will defeat PM Narendra Modi.

He also wrote a letter to his political rival and BSP chief Mayawati asking her to join hands in the fight against the BJP.

The Bahujan movement is really weak. If to save the movement, I have to bow down in front of her lakhs of times, I would do so. For me, the movement is greater than my self-interests or ego.  

Chandra Shekhar Aazad

He said while the PM Modi-led BJP government has been at the forefront of the fight over faith in the case of Ayodhya, the faith of Dalits have been ignored by demolishing the Ravidas temple.

The temple was demolished by the central government-run Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on 10 August after the Supreme Court asked Ravidas Jayanti Samaroh Samiti to vacate the site as it lay on forest land.

“In the case of Ram Mandir, neither the government nor the lawyers fighting the case have any evidence of its existence. The fight has, for so long, been about faith. On the other hand, Dalits are forced out of their places of worship, evidence of which has been submitted to Supreme Court. They are demolished and our faith is played with. If we protest we are jailed. It’s how the government takes revenge.”

Chandra Shekhar Aazad

However, on 22 October, the apex court directed the Centre to rebuild the temple at the same spot. The Centre has now allocated 400 square metres of land for the construction of the Ravidas temple.