Congress President Rahul Gandhi today accused the BJP government of "knifing" the nation's heart with its "casteist attitude" after photos showed aspirants for the post of police constables having caste categories written on their bare chests in Madhya Pradesh.
Taking to Twitter, Gandhi put out a picture of two youths with the words ‘SC' and 'ST' written on their chests respectively.
An inquiry has been ordered after photos showed aspirants for the post of police constables with their caste categories written on their bare chests in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district.
Photographs in various newspapers showed aspirants with "SC" (Scheduled Caste), "ST" (Scheduled Tribe) and "G" (General) marked with sketch pens on their chests as they queued up for their medical examination yesterday, triggering a massive debate on social media.
Slamming the BJP over the issue, Gandhi tweeted, “BJP government's casteist attitude has knifed the heart of the country. By writing SC/ST on the chest of youths in Madhya Pradesh, they have attacked the country's Constitution.
“This is BJP/RSS thought. This same thought sometimes ties a vessel around the neck of Dalits, or a broom on their bodies, and stops them from entering a temple. We will defeat this thought,” he tweeted in Hindi.
Gandhi, however, did not specify if he was referring to the BJP-led government at the Centre or the BJP government in that state.
Elections for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly are slated for later this year.
PTI