Shri Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha), after meeting the family of deceased IPS officer Shri Y Puran Kumar, addressed the media in Chandigarh, today.

Shri Rahul Gandhi said- Namaskar! A tragedy has occurred. They are government officers, and the Chief Minister has given personal commitment that he will initiate action, conduct a free and fair inquiry, and initiate action… he said this three days back. The Chief Minister of Haryana has made a commitment, and that commitment is not being fulfilled, and because of this, his two daughters, the mother, but, especially the daughters, who have lost their father, are facing immense pressure, immense stress, and disturbance.

This is Dalit couple, and it is absolutely clear that systematic discrimination has been going on for years, not for just 10-15 days. Other officers were systematically working to demoralize this officer, to damage his career, and to damage his reputation.

So, this isn’t just a matter of one family; there are millions of Dalit brothers and sisters in the country; the wrong message is going to them. What message is being sent out – “No matter how successful you are, how intelligent you are, how capable you are, if you are a Dalit, you can be suppressed, you can be crushed, you can be thrown away”, and this is not acceptable to us.

So my message as LOP, to the Prime Minister of India, to the Chief Minister of Haryana… is to fulfill the commitment you have made to these two daughters, let their father’s funeral take place, and stop this spectacle for now.

So I want to give this clear message to the Prime Minister, to the Chief Minister of Haryana – take action, take action against the officers (responsible for this tragedy), and remove the pressure on this family.

Shri Rahul Gandhi said- Namaskar! A tragedy has occurred. They are government officers, and the Chief Minister has given personal commitment that he will initiate action, conduct a free and fair inquiry, and initiate action… he said this three days back. The Chief Minister of Haryana has made a commitment, and that commitment is not being fulfilled, and because of this, his two daughters, the mother, but, especially the daughters, who have lost their father, are facing immense pressure, immense stress, and disturbance.

This is Dalit couple, and it is absolutely clear that systematic discrimination has been going on for years, not for just 10-15 days. Other officers were systematically working to demoralize this officer, to damage his career, and to damage his reputation.

So, this isn’t just a matter of one family; there are millions of Dalit brothers and sisters in the country; the wrong message is going to them. What message is being sent out – “No matter how successful you are, how intelligent you are, how capable you are, if you are a Dalit, you can be suppressed, you can be crushed, you can be thrown away”, and this is not acceptable to us.

So my message as LOP, to the Prime Minister of India, to the Chief Minister of Haryana… is to fulfill the commitment you have made to these two daughters, let their father’s funeral take place, and stop this spectacle for now.

So I want to give this clear message to the Prime Minister, to the Chief Minister of Haryana – take action, take action against the officers (responsible for this tragedy), and remove the pressure on this family.