A Dalit farmer couple consumed pesticide in front of their children in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna because the police tried to destroy their crops and evict the couple’s family from a piece of “government-owned land.” Following this, videos emerged on the internet in which the police can be seen clearly thrashing locals, including children, in that area.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and BJP MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, among others, have condemned the incident.
This is What Our Fight is Against: Rahul Gandhi
In a tweet on Thursday, 16 July, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shared the video of the police thrashing the locals, and said “humari ladai is soch aur anyay ke khilaph hai (our fight is against this thought process and injustice).”
The Collecter and SP Have Been Removed: Scindia
Jyotiraditya Scindia, BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP, first took to Twitter to share that he has requested MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to take strict action against the officers. He later tweeted that Shivraj Singh Chouhan had directed the removal of Guna Collector and Superintendent of Police (SP) with immediate effect.
‘What is the Difference Between BJP and Congress,’ Asks Mayawati
National President of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and former chief minister of UP (Uttar Pradesh), Mayawati, on Thursday, alleged that the actions of the Guna police and administration were extremely cruel, as well as shameful.
Further, she said that while on one hand the Bhartiya Janta Party, as well as the MP government claim to be pro-Dalits, on the other hand the attempts at their eviction are just as common as they were during the Congress party’s reign.
“What is then the difference between the two parties? Dalits should think about this,” she said.
Clarify the Purpose of the Batons: Chandrashekhar Azad
Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad referred to the behaviour of the MP Police as utterly shameful. He also asked the government to clarify whether the batons in the hands of the cops are for the protection of people or for inflicting atrocities on them.
Others React
Other public figures such as Swati Maliwal, Sonam Kapoor and Avinash Das have also come forward to share their thoughts and express outraged.
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