New Delhi: Activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Monday alleged that the atrocities against Dalits have increased in the last five-six years under the BJP-led rule and accused the Centre of "silencing" the parties which fight against the issue.
"They (Dalits) will rise up against atrocities. If you commit so many atrocities against someone, there will be a reaction from their end too and this is dangerous for any country," he said at a press conference organised by the Bhim Army.
Bhushan alleged that the BJP and its associated organisations are committing atrocities against Dalits and appealed to the common people to raise their voice against it.
"In the last five years, atrocities against Dalits have increased and they are being brutally beaten up in states, especially which are BJP-ruled," he alleged, adding that such instances were also reported from other states.
"Initially, it was Dalit party BSP which was fighting against the atrocities. The government somehow silenced them by filing cases against their leaders.
"Then, Chandrashekhar Azad formed the Bhim Army and it quickly started becoming the voice of Dalits. The Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government then hatched a conspiracy to crush the Bhim Army," he alleged.
Bhushan alleged that Azad was arrested under the National Security Act (NSA) and "is not allowed to go and attend rallies".
Representatives of Bhim Army alleged that Azad's family members were booked for protesting against the vandalism of Babasaheb Ambedkar statue in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur.
"His brothers were not even present there and they were booked," Bhushan claimed.
Azad and 95 others were arrested last month on charges of rioting during a protest in the wake of the demolition of Guru Ravidas temple in the national capital.
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