Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday, October 10, met the Dalit family that was fined Rs 60,000 after their son touched a pole attached to the idol of the village deity Bhoothamma, on the sidelines of his Bharat Jodo Yatra. While interacting with the family, Rahul Gandhi expressed his concern over the injustice and comforted them for having gone through a traumatic experience of 'untouchability'. The family was invited to Tumakuru district where the Gandhi scion is leading the padayatra in Kolar.
The incident occurred in Ullerahalli of Malur taluk in the Kolar district. Chethan, the Dalit boy along with his family, was fined Rs 60,000 by the upper caste village elders, some of whom are also gram panchayat members, for allegedly defiling the idol. The Kolar police filed a suo motu complaint against the gram panchayat members and village elders after the incident was reported to them by Dalit organisations.
Shobha, Chethan’s mother, had told TNM that the family was asked to pay Rs 60,000 before October 1. “How can I pay so much? I earn Rs 300 as my wages for heavy labour. I asked them if I could pay at least Rs 5,000, but they refused. They (the villagers) beat my son up and humiliated us in front of everyone like we were dirt. No God came to help us. Why should I worship a God who didn't come to my aid? This is why I removed all the Hindu god's idols from my home. Ambedkar is the one who fought for the rights of my people and these are the people who are helping me. If I have to worship anyone, it will be Ambedkar from now on,” she had said.
On October 7, Kavitha Lankesh, filmmaker and sister of late journalist Gauri Lankesh, joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra. She was accompanied by her mother Indira. Rahul Gandhi also met with educational activists in the state who are opposed to the changes in the textbooks made by the BJP government. As the Yatra passes through various districts, Rahul Gandhi has made it a point to interact with people.
Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is a mass contact programme that involves padayatra or walkathon of Congress leaders and workers from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. More than 150 “Bharat Padayatris” along with Rahul Gandhi will walk a stretch of 3,570 kilometres for about 150 days from Kanyakumari to Srinagar. After touring both Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Karnataka on September 30. After the Karnataka leg, the yatra is slated to enter Andhra Pradesh and then briefly go back to Karnataka before entering Telangana. After Telangana, it will move to Maharashtra.
(With IANS inputs)