BJP has made Madhya Pradesh 'laboratory' for atrocities on Dalits, alleges Mallikarjun Kharge

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday attacked the BJP over the reported killing of a Dalit man in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar and alleged that the ruling party has made the state a "laboratory" for atrocities on the community.

He also asserted that the BJP will not return to power in the state in the upcoming assembly polls as it will get an answer from people for the "atrocities against the deprived and exploited sections" of the society.

An 18-year-old Dalit man from Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district was beaten to death, allegedly by men who had been mounting pressure on him to convince his sister to withdraw a sexual harassment case she filed in 2019, according to media reports.

"A Dalit youth was beaten to death in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh. The goons did not even spare his mother. The Prime Minister, who projects the facade of building the Sant Ravidas temple in Sagar, does not even flinch at atrocities and injustice handed out to Dalits and tribals in Madhya Pradesh," Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.

The chief minister of Madhya Pradesh tries to hide his "crimes" by washing the feet of the underprivileged only in front of the camera, Kharge said.

"… But the BJP has made Madhya Pradesh a laboratory for atrocities on Dalits. BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh has the highest rate of crimes against Dalits, three times the national average," Kharge alleged.

"This time the people of Madhya Pradesh are not going to fall in the trap of the BJP, you (BJP) will get the answer from the people for the atrocities against the deprived and exploited sections of the society after a few months," he said in an apparent reference to the upcoming assembly polls.

The BJP's departure is certain, the Congress chief added.