New Delhi [India], August 30 : Indian Youth Congress National President Uday Bhanu Chib staged a protest on Sunday outside the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters at Jhandewalan in New Delhi and alleged a discriminatory mindset of the Bharatiya Janata Party-RSS.
Speaking on the occasion, IYC National President Uday Bhanu Chib stated that the RSS-BJP ideology is inspired by the Manusmriti and is "anti-Dalit." Chib alleged a "casteist mindset" of the BJP-RSS and burning a copy of the Manusmriti during the demonstration.
"The RSS-BJP ideology is inspired by the Manusmriti, which is anti-Dalit. There is a battle between two ideologies in the country: that of the Constitution and that of the BJP-RSS. The 'purification' of the stage following Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's program in Uttarakhand is an insult not just to one individual, but to crores of Dalits in the country and to the very soul of the Constitution," he said in a release.
"We will continue to fight against this casteist mindset because this country will be governed by the Constitution, not by the Manusmriti," he added.
During the protest, Chib, who was holding a copy of the Constitution, burned the Manusmriti outside the Sangh headquarters. IYC National General Secretary Hari Krishna and other Youth Congress office-bearers were also present.
During the protest, the Delhi Police detained IYC National President Uday Bhanu Chib and took him to the Paharganj police station.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Saturday accused the BJP and RSS of harbouring an "anti-Dalit" mindset, alleging that repeated incidents targeting members of the Dalit community in BJP-ruled states were a result of support from the top leadership.
Reacting to the controversy surrounding an alleged incident involving Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Uttarakhand, Ramesh said it would not be surprising if those responsible were "honoured or rewarded" by the BJP-led state government.
"It wouldn't be surprising if the BJP's double-engine government in Uttarakhand honours or rewards in some way those who have displayed such anti-Dalit hatred toward Congress President Kharge ji. Such audacity only comes when there's backing from the top. Otherwise, what's the reason for such incidents to recur repeatedly in BJP-ruled states? At the core of the BJP-RSS ideology lies hatred toward Dalits. No matter how much of a mask they wear, this mindset keeps surfacing time and again," Ramesh said.
Ramesh further accused the BJP-led government of failing to uphold the dignity and equality guaranteed by the Constitution and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's response to the alleged incident.