Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh): A Dalit Sarpanch in Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha district on Tuesday claimed that he was not allowed to hoist the Tri-colour on the 77th Independence Day, which was celebrated across the country with patriotic fervour, because of his caste.
Barelal, the Sarpanch (village head) of Bhagwantpur gram panchayat, further claimed that the school's principal did not allow him to hoist the National flag and instead asked a member of a district committee to do the honours. He also alleged that he was not invited to the school.
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According to the Sarpanch, under the Panchayat Raj rules, it is the right of the Sarpanch to unfurl the National flag and he was denied the right due to his caste. The Sironj Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Harshal Chaudhary has taken cognizance of the matter and said that action will be taken upon investigation.
Panchayat Samiti secretary Ameer Hamza, who was present on the occasion, said that it has been happening so far that the Sarpanch hoists the National flag in the Panchayat building and then goes to the school to unfurl the Tricolour. "For this, the sarpanch is duly informed. But the sarpanch says that he was not informed this time. The school principal hoisted the flag from someone else even as Barelal remained in the Panchayat building."
Hurt by the behaviour of the school principal, Barelal said this was an "insult to his position and caste". "It has become common in Madhya Pradesh where injustice is done to Dalits. They are not getting their rights," the Sarpanch alleged.
The Madhya Pradesh Congress, which is in the Opposition, took a jibe at the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government and asked why the Chief Minister had so much hatred towards the Dalits.
"Anti-Dalit Shivraj government: Dalit Sarpanch Barelal Ahirwar was not included in the flag hoisting program on the occasion of Independence Day in the Shivraj government and was prevented from hoisting the flag. Shivraj ji, Do you hate Dalits so much," the Madhya Pradesh Congress wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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