The immediacy of the Assembly elections may have been the spur for Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s public assurance to upper castes that there would no arrests under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act without proper investigations, but the BJP is depending on a more word-of-mouth campaign to calm tempers among upper castes in other States.
BJP leaders in major north Indian States have been asked to travel to blocks and districts in their areas of influence to speak to resentful upper caste community members.
The Union government had brought in a new ordinance (later ratified by Parliament) after the Supreme Court tweaked the original 1989 Act, which asked for more process before arrests in cases under the Act.
This has led to agitations in many States, especially Madhya Pradesh where an umbrella organisation of upper castes, called the Samanya Alapasankhyak Adhikari Karamchari Sangh (SAPAKS), led a successful bandh on September 6 and plans a big rally on September 30.
Traditional support
Black flags and protests have been greeting Mr. Chouhan and leaders in the Congress as well during public interactions in the course of poll campaigning.
However, the BJP leaders feel that the traditional support enjoyed by the party among the upper castes will help them prevail over any anger.
“The leadership of the party is listening. We have been travelling to each janpad (taluka level administrative unit) and speaking to community members. I tell them don’t get taken by any social media campaigns. What is the actual figure of cases filed under the Act? Who is being accused? Who is the accuser? In many cases the communities at the forefront of the agitation are not the ones that figure in FIRs,” said Uttar Pradesh Law Minister Brajesh Pathak.
‘No going back’
Senior party office-bearers say that there will be no going back on the law as it helps the BJP’s prospects among the sizeable Dalit communities across the country.
“We will have to manage the upper caste anger without going back on the law,” said a senior party leader.
The movement in Uttar Pradesh was being led by spiritual guru Devakinandan Thakur who was recently arrested in Agra. As Mr. Thakur’s arrest triggered much anger, the BJP resorted to a more word-of-mouth approach.
The resentment is said to be spilling across north India and while the BJP does not fear that upper castes will vote against it in the upcoming polls, their refusal to vote may have the same devastating effect on the party’s poll fortunes.
For now, organisations like SAPAKS are taking Mr. Chouhan’s assurance with a pinch of salt. “Shivrajji has only conveyed this orally. No instructions in writing have been issued. We will continue to oppose all political parties on this. We are organising a big rally in Bhopal on September 30 to give a demonstration of our strength,” said Dr. K.S. Kushwah, one of the founding members of SAPAKS.