Rahul Gandhi demands CBI probe

Drawing a parallel with Rohith Vemula case, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday supported the demand for a CBI probe made by the family of a 17-year-old dalit girl who was allegedly raped and found dead under mysterious circumstances, and accused the BJP and RSS of discriminating against dalits.

The Congress vice-president, who visited the grieving family of the girl in Tirmohi village in Barmer, said they have lost faith in the state government and police, and want a CBI inquiry. He alleged that just like Vemula’s suicide incident, the authorities were trying to suppress this case.

“The father of the girl has no faith on the government and the state police and wants a CBI inquiry. He is demanding nothing but justice for his daughter and now it is the responsibility of the chief minister to ensure justice by referring the case to the CBI,” Mr Gandhi said.

He also attacked the Vasundhara Raje government alleging that the chief minister was showing apathy as the case was related to a dalit.

Both the Congress and BJP want schools and education for the people, but “the difference is that the BJP and RSS people want to do discrimination with dalit, but the Congress wants dalits to sit with all, to run schools, to become principals in schools and even want dalits to run the country,” he said.

“A delegation comprised of both the Congress and BJP MLAs met CM Vasundhara Raje to demand justice for the girl. I am told that the CM asked them to not waste her time by talking for the girl’s case,” Mr Gandhi said, while addressing a dalit conference in Jaipur. He raked up the issue of alleged suicide by dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad Central University on which he had vociferously attacked the BJP-led government at the Centre. “In Bikaner, the dalit girl was murdered, but the police and government say it was a suicide. In Rohith Vermula’s case, Union minister Sushma Swaraj said that he was not a dalit. These cases are being suppressed.”