With twenty-one houses being set on fire in Bihar’s Nawada district on Wednesday evening, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, Thursday called it "a horrifying picture of injustice against the Bahujans in Bihar" and stated that "the silence of the Prime Minister is a seal of approval on this big conspiracy." While no one was injured, the police has said that houses were torched allegedly in a bid to usurp vacant government land. In a post on X, Rahul stated that "such anarchist elements find shelter under the leadership of BJP and its NDA allies - they intimidate and suppress the Bahujans of India so that they cannot even demand their social and constitutional rights." नवादा में महादलितों का पूरा टोला जला देना, 80 से ज़्यादा परिवारों के घरों को नष्ट कर देना बिहार में बहुजनों के विरुद्ध अन्याय की डरावनी तस्वीर उजागर कर रहा है। अपना घर-संपत्ति खो चुके इन दलित परिवारों की चीत्कार और भयंकर गोलीबारी की गूंज से वंचित समाज में मचा आतंक भी बिहार की… — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 19, 2024 According to the police, the houses belonging to Scheduled Castes Ravidas were allegedly set on fire by a group of people belonging to another Scheduled Caste Paswan. The police has arrested 10 people in the case. As Rahul demanded immediate action from the Bihar government and the state police against all the culprits of the crime, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in a post on X stated that the incident was "another proof of the jungle raj of the NDA's double engine government". Taking a dig at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Kharge said, "Nitish is carefree in his greed for power and the NDA allies are speechless." The senior Congress leader further added, "The BJP and its allies' utter indifference towards the Dalits and the deprived, criminal neglect and promotion of anti-social elements is now at its peak." बिहार के नवादा में महादलित टोला पर दबंगों का आतंक NDA की डबल इंजन सरकार के जंगलराज का एक और प्रमाण है। बेहद निंदनीय है कि करीब 100 दलित घरों में आग लगाई गई, गोलीबारी की गई और रात के अँधेरे में ग़रीब परिवारों का सब कुछ छीन लिया गया। भाजपा और उसके सहयोगी दलों की दलितों-वंचितों… — Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 19, 2024 Meanwhile, INDIA bloc ally and RJD leader, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, hit out at CM Nitish Kumar for his silence. "Neither does he (Nitish) talk to the media, nor the public." Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also spoke on the incident and stated, "Firing dozens of rounds and creating terror on such a large scale and rendering people homeless shows that the law and order situation in the state has completely collapsed," she said in a post on X. She further said, "The common rural-poor are forced to live in the shadow of insecurity and fear" and demanded strict action against the 'bullies' and all the victims to be properly rehabilitated. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo also expressed anguish over the incident. "The government should take strict legal action against the culprits and also provide full financial help for the rehabilitation of the victims," she said.
