Several outfits representing the Kumhars, a most backward caste traditionally associated with pottery, have announced they will gherao the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in Lucknow on November 26 to demand action in cases of alleged atrocities faced by the community in the BJP-ruled State.
The protesters, under the banner of the Prajapati Soshit Samaj Sangarsh Samiti (PS4), have put forward their four main demands — the police should arrest persons accused of murdering and oppressing the Kumhars (also called Prajapati); a CBI investigation into cases of rape and murder faced by the community; a CBI investigation into the death of Rupesh Kumar Prajapati who was lodged in Lucknow jail and the killing of a suspected criminal, Vijay Prajapati, in an alleged exchange of fire in Gorakhpur by the police and 53 such other incidents; and the removal of illegal encroachment from land pattas allotted to the Kumhar community.
Cheddi Lal Nirala, president of the PS4, told The Hindu that the community felt victimised under the BJP Government in the State. He referred to the inaction into the alleged murder of five members of a Prajapati family in Mainpuri who were locked inside a room and set on fire. Mr. Nirala also alleged that the police killed Vijay Prajapati in a “fake encounter”.
There is also suppressed anger within the community after Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, who was a Cabinet Minister in the Samajwadi Party Government, was recently convicted for rape and sentenced to life imprisonment by a local court in Lucknow.
Mr. Nirala added that if that if the Government did not accept their demands on November 26, the organisation would appeal to its members to vote out the BJP in the State in the 2022 Assembly election. The Kumhars constitute roughly 4% of the OBC population in the State and are among the most poorly represented communities in the State Assembly.
The Yogi Adityanath Government has tried to woo the community by promoting artisans and allotting ponds for them, and in September he also inducted Dharamveer Singh Prajapati, an MLC from Agra, into his Council of Ministers.
“We will discuss with our committee in Varanasi and take a call on supporting the strongest Opposition party,” Mr. Nirala said.
