Shri Rajendra Pal Gautam, Chairman, SC Department, AICC and Shri Imran Masood, MP, addressed the media at Indira Bhawan, AICC Hdqrs, today .
ALL INDIA CONGRESS COMMITTEE
Shri Rajendra Pal Gautam said- “Hello friends. Today we have come to discuss a very serious issue with you. You all know that for the past 10 years, Dalits in Uttar Pradesh have been subjected to brutal physical attacks, murders, social boycotts, and institutional discrimination. Dalit oppression has rapidly increased in Uttar Pradesh over the past 10 years.”
Five BJP-ruled states across the country are at the top in terms of Dalit oppression. 75% of Dalit oppression incidents in these five states have occurred in BJP-ruled states. Uttar Pradesh alone accounts for 26.2% of these incidents. This is NCRB data, not data created by me. Now, let me show you a video. (Video shown) This is an incident from Rae Bareli.
You must have seen this video. As soon as the attackers start beating the man from all sides, the man mentions Rahul Gandhi’s name. So, they all mock him, saying, “Oh, Rahul Gandhi, but everyone here is a Babawadi.” So, don’t the Babawadis in Uttar Pradesh, the government, have faith in the Constitution and the law? Is there no longer any need for courts, investigative agencies, or the police in Uttar Pradesh? Have the brutal people been given the freedom to murder people openly? Yogi, who uses bulldozers on every small issue, doesn’t even obey the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice’s directives.
You must have noticed that on one hand, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is issuing directions, saying, “You will be charged with contempt of court, you can’t act like this, you can’t run a bulldozer on anyone like this.” But you saw recently that the day the statement came, the bulldozers were used. So, given the way incidents against Dalits are constantly increasing in Uttar Pradesh, do those who oppress Dalits have the full protection of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Yogi? Because let me tell you about some incidents from the latest year of 2025. Firstly, this Rae Bareli incident happened just two or three nights ago. In Hapur, on October 5, 2025, Dalits were attacked and pelted with stones during a religious event. In Mainpuri, in September 2025, a Dalit woman was gang-raped. In Prayagraj, a Dalit youth was beaten to death by police officers while in custody. In Amroha, Dalits were attacked with swords. In Prayagraj, in April 2025, a Dalit youth was murdered and his body burned. In Etah, miscreants attacked a Dalit family’s wedding and injured the groom and others. In Moradabad, in March 2025, a 14-year-old Dalit girl was gang-raped. In Ayodhya, in February 2025, the naked body of a Dalit family’s daughter was found with her eyes gouged out. In Meerut, a Dalit wedding procession was attacked in March 2025. According to a report by Citizens for Justice and Peace, anti-Dalit incidents have increased in Uttar Pradesh. So, on the one hand, there are constant attacks on Dalit wedding processions, gang rapes and murders of Dalit daughters, and the open murder of Dalit youth, and they are also being humiliated in other ways. When they go to the police for action, the police do not take any action, and institutional discrimination is taking place. On the other hand, incidents like the vandalization of statues of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, whom the Dalit community considers their God, and the desecration of statues of Lord Gautam Buddha, and the desecration of them, are constantly occurring in Uttar Pradesh. So, the question is: with the way Dalits are being openly murdered in broad daylight in Uttar Pradesh, and mob lynchings are taking place… has the Uttar Pradesh government completely failed in maintaining law and order? Has Yogi Adityanath given such criminals free rein? Are these criminals protected by Yogi Adityanath? Does Yogi Adityanath’s government and his thugs lack faith in the law and the Constitution? Is there no need for courts in Uttar Pradesh? Have these criminals been given free rein to execute anyone on the spot without any investigation? The Uttar Pradesh government will have to answer these questions.
The NCRB data is from 2023, as they have not yet released any data after that. That data shows that a total of 57,789 cases of atrocity were reported in 2023. Out of these, 15,130 cases were registered in Uttar Pradesh alone, i.e. 26.2% cases. And if you look at the rate of crime against SC per lakh, i.e. 28.7 incidents of atrocity against Dalits are taking place per 1 lakh, and Uttar Pradesh tops the national average in that as well. 8,449 in Rajasthan, 8,232 in Madhya Pradesh, 7,159 in Bihar, so these incidents of assault, sexual violence, murder, land dispute, social boycott, abuse, intimidation, are continuously happening in Uttar Pradesh. How this Dalit youth, Hariom, was brutally beaten in Rae Bareli on the night of the 2nd and 3rd. When he uttered Rahul Gandhi’s name, they mocked him, saying, “Oh, Rahul Gandhi, everyone here is a Babawadi.”
So, have the Babawadis in Uttar Pradesh completely dismantled the Constitution and taken over the justice system? They can kill anyone openly. I believe the Uttar Pradesh government should immediately answer these questions, and Yogi Adityanath should take responsibility and resign. The families of the victims should be given compensation of one crore rupees, each family member should be given a government job, and an SIT should be formed to investigate such cases in a time-bound manner, and a charge sheet should be filed in a fast-track court. Through fast-track courts, the cruel perpetrators of such open murders should be immediately punished, so that people can see the light of their eyes and we can say that the Constitution rules in our country. Now, I would like Masood ji to express his views on this issue.
Mr. Imran Masood said, “Friends, I think Gautam Sahib explained everything in great detail, so there’s no need to repeat it. However, the current situation in the country is not good. When we repeatedly say that the Constitution of the country is in danger, it is certainly visible today, and it is being tested, that the Constitution of the country is in great danger.”
Not only in the country, but also abroad, these incidents are isolating us globally. Since today is the age of technology, information about these incidents reaches everywhere, and its message spreads throughout the world. Therefore, we are becoming increasingly isolated from these things in the world. Where have we found ourselves today? They don’t respect the Constitution. Life is difficult for Dalits, life is difficult for Muslims. They will beat us, they will make us join hands, they will post apologies, all to humiliate us.
The CJI goes abroad and speaks about bulldozers, and the next day the bulldozers are in operation. However, on November 8th, the Supreme Court issued guidelines, and these guidelines are not being followed. So, they are not obeying the Supreme Court, they are not following the Constitution. I believe there has never been a situation like this in the country where the rule of law is not followed, but only rules made by their ideology.
They punish anyone they want, demolish anyone’s house, they decide on the spot. Uttar Pradesh is number one in half-encounters. They will shoot anyone in the leg, they will brand anyone a criminal. So, this situation in the country, and especially in Uttar Pradesh, and these NCRB data, shows that Uttar Pradesh is not only a problem for Dalits, but also for women, and for women’s safety. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of cases of women’s harassment. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of cases of harassment against minorities. So, the Uttar Pradesh government is failing completely. It has completely failed to establish the rule of law.
Corruption is rampant. The corruption they repeatedly mentioned is rampant, and not just in one department, but everywhere. We, the Indian National Congress, especially because we are constantly engaged, are the first to reach the spot whenever an incident occurs.
It happened in Bareilly. We weren’t allowed to go there either, they locked us in our homes for the entire day. What are you trying to hide from us? You’ve named 2,800 people. At the very place where videos are being shown, you’re saying rioters, rioters. What were the riots? You’re breaking hands, breaking legs, shooting people for taking posters, and trying to pacify those creating chaos on the streets. You should have seen the chaos that unfolded three months ago, from Haridwar to Delhi.
In Fatehpur, your district president entered a dargah and stood on a grave, creating a ruckus, and even after that, you’re talking about pacification. There are all the videos, all the footage, but your batons don’t work anywhere. The batons are used based on your caste and religion, and in Uttar Pradesh in particular, indeed throughout the country, but especially in Uttar Pradesh, life has become difficult for Muslims and Dalits.
