Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, has demanded that a case under SC/ST act be registered against the Union Minister General VK Singh for his ‘shameful and prosecutable’ statement.
Kejriwal posted a series of tweets to express his anguish on the former army chief’s remarks appearing to make light of the gruesome killings of two Dalit children in Haryana on Tuesday.
His tweet said, “VK Singh’s statement is shameful and prosecutable under SC/ST Act. A case should be registered against him immediately. Aaj Dussehra hai, burai aur ahankar par achhai ki jeet ka prateek. Agar Modiji sach mein Dusshera manana chahte hai to unko apne cabinet ko burai aur AHANKAAR se mukt karna chahiye. Aaj shaamse pehle, VK Singh ko Cabinet se bahar nikaal dena chahiye (Today is Dussehra, a symbol of victory of good over evil. If Modiji really wants to celebrate Dussehra, then he should rid his cabinet of evil and arrogance. VK Singh must be sacked before this evening.)”
Also Read: VK Singh’s ‘dog’ comments, ‘a decisive nail in coffin for BJP’s Bihar campaign’
The former army chief, through his comments, reportedly implied that the burning of dalit kids in Haryana was as small an incident as hitting a dog with stones.
“Agar koi kutte ko patthar maar de to sarkaar zimmedaar nahi hai (government can’t be responsible if someone hits a dog with stones),” he was quoted by several TV channels.
VK Singh was commenting in response to a question on the burning alive of two dalit kids in Haryana’s Ballabhgarh district last Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had once used ‘kutte ka bachcha’ analogy to explain his ‘grief’ on Gujarat massacre of 2002, when more than 2000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in what many said ‘state-sponsored’ riots.
The footage of the interview showed Modi as saying: “Hum agar car chala rahen hain… aur koi drive kar raha hai aur hum peechhe baithe hain, phir bhi ek chhota kutte ka bachcha bhi car ke neeche aa jata hai, toh humein pain feel hota hai ki nahin? Hota hai. (If we are driving a car and I’m sitting in the rear seat and we run over a puppy. Then I feel the pain. I do.)”