NEW DELHI: Stepping up his attack on the Modi government for its failure to protect the interests of Dalits, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has directed the party's Scheduled Castes department to expose the "deteriorating condition of Dalits under the current political climate".

Rahul's attack points to the "inaction of BJP governments in states" - Uttar Pradesh in particular - where numerous incidents of attacks on Dalits and religious minorities have surfaced. In a letter to Congress's SC department chairman, Rahul expressed anguish over rising instances of atrocities against Dalits and the "climate of fear and lawlessness that the Modi government has allowed to not only prevail but also flourish".

Rahul accused BJP ministers of "exhorting their followers to target certain communities". Saying it was important for Congress to reach out to victims of "mindless violence" and publicly support them, he said, "The complicity of state agencies that makes such wide scale persecution possible must be exposed."

Rahul also said Congress's SC department must examine recent instances of violence against Dalits where the state had failed to act against the perpetrators and take up the issue on "all relevant platforms".

Rahul's missive comes days ahead of the August 9 countrywide 'bandh' called by Dalit groups, farmers' organisations and retired armed forces personnel demanding that the government fulfil the promise of one rank one pension. The Dalit groups are pushing for the government to bring an ordinance to reinstate the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which was "diluted" by the Supreme Court.

