Mayawati insult might rob Amit Shah of chance to mock napping Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi’s act of dozing off in Parliament – amid heated exchanges between the treasury benches and the Opposition Congress – during the all important debate on the atrocities faced by Dalits in Gujarat’s Una has armed BJP president Amit Shah with strong talking points ahead of his upcoming rally in Agra – where he will share the dais with 87-year-old Buddhist monk Dhamma Viriyo, to mobilise Dalits and other most backward castes in the BJP’s favour. The advantage given by Rahul Gandhi to the BJP, however, was lost shortly due to a loose and condemnable statement made by BJP Uttar Pradesh state unit vice-president Dayashankar Singh on Mayawati . It has been proven in the past that such loose remarks hurt the very party which makes them, and ultimately helps the person and the party who is cursed with such detestable words. Results of the Bihar Assembly election is one such example. Amit Shah is well aware of the backlash that the BJP could face, and how it could send the party’s sustained Dalit outreach program for a toss. Dayashankar has surely invited the wrath of the party leadership. Finance Minister and Leader of Lok Sabha in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, indicated that the party would take a tough stand against him. [caption id=“attachment_2810658” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. PTI[/caption]

Given the sensitivity around the issue, Dayashankar was taken to task by BJP’s  state unit chief Keshav Prasad Maurya and national party in-charge for state OP Mathur. Though he has since apologised, how much that can salvage or how it pans out will be seen in due course. Mayawati quickly seized the opportunity and led the charge in Rajya Sabha. Her emotional outbursts clearly indicated how she was going to raise the issue in the run up to Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in 2017. The BJP needs to watch out for that.

The Congress, along with the BSP members, continued to create ruckus in the Rajya Sabha – first on the Una issue and then on the Mayawati insult issue. Dayashankar’s “prostitute” remark on Mayawati, helped the Congress acquire an aggressive posture against the BJP in Rajya Sabha, conveniently covering the embarrassment caused by Rahul Gandhi’s nap during the Dalit protest issue discussion in the Lok Sabha. Rahul’s act has also taken the steam out of his scheduled visit to Una on Thursday. The BJP is sure to raise the issue when he lands in Gujarat.

The act of public thrashing of some Dalits by a vigilante cow protection group in Una is highly deplorable, and the consequent violent backlash – including suicide attempts by some protestors – has put the Anandiben Patel government in the dock. The heat on the Modi Government because of the issue was more than visible in both houses of Parliament.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh gave a longish reply on the issue, saying that it was reflective of a social malice which had to be countered, and that all concerned needed to rise above the political lines. He went at length citing figures of early nineties in Gujarat, to suggest that the situation was much worse during the Congress rule in the state, and also during the 10-year period of UPA rule at the Centre. His response, though, was far from satisfactory.

Rahul Gandhi’s disinterest or boredom, as manifested by his dozing off, saved the day for the government, both in the Parliament and outside, also giving BJP a political brownie point over Congress on the politically and socially critical issue.

The Congress is finding it increasingly difficult to defend its party boss. Even BSP chief Mayawati, whose party members had trooped in the well in Rajya Sabha along with Congress members, was quick to blast the Congress vice-president.

The Dalit issue would continue to raise political fire in next 24 hours. While Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal would visit Una, the Rajya Sabha will continue to have heated discussions on the issue. Following that, a few days later, BJP President Amit Shah – along with Buddhist monks – will lead the charge to woo Dalits and attempt to make direct inroads into Mayawati’s social constituency. The unfolding events in Shah’s home state of Gujarat and Daya Shankar’s Mayawati insult, though, have made his task slightly difficult. He and the BJP had, after prolonged deliberations, crafted a multi-pronged strategy to woo the Dalits. PM Modi, Shah and the BJP have been working on it for two years. Take for instance, the Buddhist monks campaign for BJP in UP. A group of 70-80 Buddhist monks, led by an octogenarian Dhamma Viriyo, will crisscross the length and breadth of UP, while lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to reach out to Dalits and of restoring due honour to the greatest Dalit icon, BR Ambedkar. This has evoked a lot of curiosity among people. Though there is no precise data on how many Dalits, Chamars or Jatavas (Mayawati is a Jatav) have turned to Buddhism, there are some other interesting facets. The monks’ Dhamma Chetna Yatra, besides focusing on Buddhist Dalits, will also target the OBCs and MBCs, telling the castes and communities concerned that more than anyone else, Mayawati in particular, it is actually Narendra Modi who has given due glory and fame to Ambedkar, and also followed his principles, as laid down by the Dalit icon. It is interesting to note that while in Maharashtra, Dalits other than caste Mahar, to which Ambedkar belonged, hardly turn to Buddhism; but in UP, particularly in Western UP, a section of Jatavas and others castes in the Dalit community have converted to Buddhism. The Jatavas, who constitute over half the population of Dalits in UP, have so far solidly stood behind Mayawati. Viriyo’s six month long yatra was flagged off by Rajnath Singh at Sarnath in Varanasi on 24 April and is likely to conclude in Lucknow in mid-October, where Modi will hold a public rally. The yatra and its coordination has had strong RSS inputs. RSS leader Indresh has been working on the Hindu-Buddhist samrasta samanvay (coordination and co-option). He is one of the prime movers behind this yatra, though he has largely remained in the background. The RSS’ other concern is the Dalit conversion to Christianity. Shah’s Agra rally on 31 July would be keenly watched by his political rivals.