Mayawati said the prime minister's silence on the matter indicated that the BJP "is not with the Dalit community". She also accused the party of using suspended BJP leader Dayashankar Singh's mother and wife for "political gains", The Times of India reported. "BJP made Dayashankar use foul language against me and thought suspending him will win hearts of Dalits. But this took a U-turn," Mayawati said. Singh's wife Swati Singh had accused BSP activists of abusing and threatening her and her 12-year-old daughter after her husband likened Mayawati to a sex worker.
The BSP chief's statement comes at a time when several cases of atrocities against Dalits by right-wing groups have been reported. Days after the Una incident, seven members of a right-wing body attacked a Dalit family in Karnataka's Chikkamagaluru district allegedly for cooking beef. More than 30 members of the group beat up the family on July 17. They were arrested on charges under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, NDTV reported.
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