New Delhi, April 24
Udit Raj, the Dalit face of the Bharatiya Janata Party, says the recent attacks on churches do not have a communal angle.
"There
are elements who are out to defame the government," Udit Raj told IANS
in an interview. Raj replied "I don't think so" to questions on the
communal angle in the attacks.
Asked what the Modi government had
done to instill confidence among Christians, especially after cases
like the rape of an elderly nun, he said the government was doing
"everything possible" to protect everyone.
"Be it Christians or anybody else, the government is for all and we are doing our best to protect them all," he said.
On
the 'ghar wapsi' campaign carried out by some radical Hindu
organisations to convert Muslims, Udit Raj said no government agency was
involved in it and it had "been in the news for all the wrong reasons,"
repeating his statement that there were elements out to defame the
government.
"My leadership is concerned and steps are being taken
to ensure that it does not harm the image of the government," Raj said
adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already made the
government's stand clear on such issues.
"Stringent action will
be taken against those who indulge in such activities," added the BJP MP
from the Northwest Delhi constituency and chairman of the All India
Confederation of SC/ST organisations.
On being asked whether the
Hindutva groups had realised that conversions happen because of caste
discrimination, he said "there were reasons" that people change their
religion.
"There is illiteracy and other problems which lead to such situations," he said.
Asked
how untouchability and other similar social evils could be dealt with,
Udit Raj said such issues require a "combined approach" involving all.
The
government alone can't do everything, the BJP MP said, adding that to
improve the overall life of Dalits "everybody has to come forward".
"The
government can't actually change the social system, everybody - be it
schools, colleges and even the media -has to come forward in order to
get the desired results to improve the overall life of Dalits in the
country," he maintained.
"Manual scavenging, poverty and other
problems of Dalits and other poor people would go away only with
education and good government policies," he said referring to Home
Minister Rajnath Singh having lunch with women who had earlier worked as
scavengers.
Udit Raj said the NDA government was doing its bit to improve the overall condition of Dalits and the poor.
Asked
about the Dalits' support for the BJP in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where
assembly elections are due later this year and in 2017 respectively, he
said the "Dalits are realising who is their real well-wisher".
"The Dalit support base for the BJP is increasing and we are working to improve it further," he added.
(Sushil Kumar could be contacted at [email protected])
