Rajasthan: Sachin Pilot targets Ashok Gehlot-led govt over death of Dalit boy in Jalore

The infighting in Congress came to the fore again with Sachin Pilot targeting the Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government over the death of a Dalit boy in Jalore. After being beaten up by his teacher Chail Singh for touching a drinking water pot in Saraswati Vidya Mandir on July 20, 9-year-old Indra Kumar was admitted to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries on August 13. Singh has already been arrested. Speaking to the media on Tuesday after meeting the relatives of the deceased boy Indra Kumar, he contended that it was not enough to say that such incidents happen in other states too. 

Sachin Pilot opined, "India completed 75 years of Independence. Even 75 years since Independence, such discrimination is happening in our system. This is a matter of shame and introspection for all of us. The child was beaten up and he died. He was a 9-year-old child. In the FIR, it has been written that he drank from a pot and the pot belonged to the teacher. The killing of the boy raises many big questions. The backward and Dalit community is under pressure. They told me that they are scared of their personal safety. The compensation has been given and the case has been registered."

"But the recognition of the school should be cancelled. A message should go to the entire state. A person having a moustache was killed in the Pali district. A Dalit boy will die after being beaten. We cannot accept this system. We have to change it. As far as this incident is concerned, it is not enough to say that such incidents happen in other states too. There should be zero tolerance for such things happening to any helpless person. We cannot say that this is happening in other states, so it is happening here. We cannot wait till the next incident to take action. We have to take some steps to destroy that mindset," the Tonk MLA added.

Flurry of resignations in Congress

Expressing anguish over the atrocities against Dalits in Rajasthan, 12 Congress councillors in the Baran Municipal Council sent their resignation letters to CM Ashok Gehlot a day earlier. These councillors include Yogendra Mehta, Rohitashva Saxena, Rajaram Meena, Rekha Meena, Leeladhar Nagar, Hariraj Erwal, Piyush Soni, Urvashi Meghwal, Yashwant Yadav, Anwar Ali, Jyoti Jatav and Mayank Mathodia. On Monday, Congress MLA Panachand Meghwal announced his resignation as a legislator lamenting his inability to stop the atrocities against Dalits.