RSS Is Running Govt, PM Modi Can’t Go Against It: Savitribai Phule
NEW DELHI - Dalit MP
Savitribai Phule, who resigned from the BJP last week, has called Prime Minister Narendra Modi
a "puppet" in the hands of the RSS. "The RSS is
ruling this country today. Yogi (Adityanath) and Modi do exactly what they are
asked to do by the RSS and the RSS people do not believe in the Constitution of
India. They follow 'Manusmriti' (an ancient Indian legal text which advocates
caste hierarchies)," she said while speaking to HuffPost India.
The Lok Sabha MP from
Bahriach seat in Uttar Pradesh said she was insulted and ignored by her party
members when she tried to raise the issues of backward communities in
Parliament. "Since 2014 Lok
Sabha elections, there has been a steep increase in violence against Dalits,
backwards and minorities in our country. People are being killed, women are
being raped almost every day in Uttar Pradesh and in other parts of the
country. The atrocities against Dalits have reached an insane level. Villages
are being burnt, people are being lynched and women are being raped openly. But
when I tried to raise these issues in the parliament, the BJP people looked at
me with contempt and tried to demoralize me," Phule added.
Phule also said that
no action has been taken against RSS and BJP leaders who said the Constitution
should be reviewed. She cited all of these as reasons for her resignation. Earlier in the year,
Phule had held rallies and protests against what she claimed was a "conspiracy
to end reservations". She had also protested
against the Supreme Court's March ruling to regulate the use of the SC/ST
Act—nine people were killed in protests that broke out in reaction to the
order. In August, the cabinet was forced to approve an amendment to the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to
overturn the top court's ruling.
Phule also accused the
BJP of using Dalits, OBCs and tribals as just a vote bank. "They (BJP-RSS)
don't have any vision. They come to power only on emotive issues. Now they are
raking up the Ram Temple issues because they haven't done anything in the last
four and half years. They say they want to make India a 'Hindu Rashtra' but
where will Sikhs, Christians, Muslims, Parsis, and Buddhists go then?" she
questioned.
