The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) is taking out a ‘nyay yatra’ to raise the voices of the underprivileged and the dispossessed. The yatra started from Saharanpur on Saturday and will culminate in Agra on October 10. It will pass through Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Shamli, Baghpat, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Aligarh and Mathura.
In alliance with the Samajwadi Party, these are the districts in western Uttar Pradesh where the party seeks to put up its candidates in the coming Assembly polls.
During the march, the party will raise six demands, which include justice for the alleged victim of rape and murder in Hathras, permanent job for all sanitation workers who are on contract and strict implementation of law against manual scavenging. The party also demands a compensation of ₹ 4 lakh for those who lost their kin to COVID-19.
RLD president Jayant Chaudhary said hate crimes, targeting Dalits and crimes against women, were rising in U.P. “We are taking out this yatra to engage with civil society and talk about incidents like Hathras and Delhi rape cases and how the government is failing to address these issues and provide succour to the victims and their families. Also, COVID-19-affected families need to be provided with financial assistance.”
Mr. Chaudhary said the outreach would strengthen the party at the grassroots. “It will help us forge a strong social and political alliance with various communities in our region."
‘Party belongs to all’
Triloki Ram Diwakar, one of the party’s Dalit faces, said the party belonged to farmers and workers. “It belongs to everybody and not just Jats, as some try to project. The Hathras victim’s family is yet to get what was promised by the government,” said the former MLA from Iglas.
On the BJP reaching out to the underprivileged with its 'Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana', he stated that it was an election gimmick to get votes. “Before elections, they reach out to every social group but forget them once they come to power. People have seen through it,” he added.
