cancel the event,

at least 40,000 Dalits f

AGRA: Call it the impact of Rohit Vemula suicide, Kanahiya’s agitation in JNU, the RSS’s purported anti-reservation stance, the acts of cow protection vigilantes or the more recent derogatory remarks against BSP chief Mayawati by expelled party leader Dayashankar Singh, the UP BJP has failed to achieve the target for gathering a crowd of 40,000 Dalits for the much-touted rally of party’s national president Amit Shah in Agra on Sunday, forcing the party to cancel the event. The rally was to coincide with the arrival of Dhamma Chetna Yatra led by the so-called “Modi’s monks” in the city.While local BJP leaders claim that the “inclement weather” has forced them toinsiders admit that the real reason behind it is the lacklustre response it received from the Dalit community and also the looming threat of protests against the chetna yatra in the city. The yatra had earlier faced opposition on its arrival in Hathras, Aligarh and Mathura.According to party sources, the state BJP was given a target of collectingor Shah’s rally that coincided with the arrival of the Dhamma Chetna Yatra of Buddhist monks, which was flagged off by Rajnath Singh from Sarnath in April. However, the party failed to achieve the target, forcing cancellation of the party president’s rally, which aimed at targeting the OBCs and Dalits by focusing on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s messages for the community and his views on Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar.Though the yatra, led by the 87-year-old leader monk Dhamma Viriyo Mahathera, is dubbed as “non-political”, PM Modi is slated to address it on its culmination in Lucknow on October 14. The fact that the BJP is using the monks to propagate its political agenda has also not gone done well with the Dalits, while many of them dubbed it as “sheer opportunism”.The fact that the Yatra’s route was changed on Friday night, from the earlier scheduled visits to Dalit colonies of Jagdishpura to some posh colonies in the city and a night halt at Ambedkar Bhawan was changed to a hotel owned by a BJP leader, has also caused resentment among the community, which sees it as an event backed by the right-wing political party.Reacting sharply to BJP’s “political agenda”, Ajit Gautam of Jatav community, who is secretary of Rashtriya Samta Parishad Samajik Sanstha, said if Amit Shah was coming only to welcome the monks, then why were posters for the rally put across the city? “If the Buddhists monks are really here for Dalit chetna then why has the route been changed from Dalit bastis to hotels owned by BJP leaders?” he said.“It’s a farce,” he said, adding that the motive behind the yatra is clearly political and the BJP is trying to play with people’s faith. He said the yatra would face “unprecedented” protests in Agra too.BSP zonal coordinator Sunil Chitor said the entire yatra is a “political game” by the BJP and RSS. “These monks would stay in hotels owned by BJP leaders and address functions in RSS-run schools,” he said, claiming that the recent incidents against Dalits had “completely” eroded BJP’s support in the community.When contacted, BJP city president Vijay Shivhare admitted that the party was given a target of collecting 40,000 Dalits but claimed that they had managed the same. “The event has been cancelled due to incessant rains,” he claimed.BL Verma, president of BJP Braj region, said instead of Shah, state president Keshav Prasad Maurya and national general secretary Arun Singh will attend the function.Meanwhile, political observers view the cancellation of Shah’s rally due to lack of support from Dalits as a major setback to BJP’s efforts to woo them. They said the events of the past, including the lynching of three Dalits in Gujarat by cow protection vigilantes, have shaken the community.