New Delhi, July 17: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the BJP and RSS, accusing them of treating Bahujan lives as “cheap” in the wake of the alleged custodial death of a Dalit youth, Ganesh Valmiki, in Haryana’s Hisar district.
In a strongly worded post on social media platform X, Gandhi said, “When power sits in the lap of Manuvadi thinking, the lives of Dalits have no value! The murder of Ganesh Valmiki and the brutality inflicted on his family is not just a crime — it is the ugly face of the Manuvadi system of BJP-RSS.”
Ganesh’s family has alleged that he was killed by police personnel and that even after nine days, no action has been taken. “When the family went to seek justice, they were harassed instead,” Gandhi claimed, demanding accountability.
Calling it part of a wider pattern, he said, “This is not an isolated incident — in the last 11 years, cases of atrocities on Dalits, tribals and minorities have increased uncontrollably.”
He further alleged that the BJP government has given a “free hand to violence wearing the mask of discrimination”, and that constitutional institutions have been weakened to shield those responsible.
“The Modi government has made the police and administration a weapon of such crimes and a shield for criminals. In Modi’s era, being a Dalit, being poor, being deprived — has become a crime,” he said.
Gandhi described the killing of Ganesh Valmiki as not just a murder, but “the murder of the Constitution and the dreams of Baba Saheb Ambedkar.”
“I stand firmly with the victim’s family,” he added. “This is not just a fight for one family’s justice — it is a fight for social justice and the soul of India. Immediate strict action must be taken — this is the minimum justice.”
