Very disappointed: Guru Prakash Paswan; BJP has history of being anti-Dalit, says SFI worker
Very disappointed: Guru Prakash Paswan; BJP has history of being anti-Dalit, says SFI worker
The invitation extended to BJP national spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan to deliver a speech on Ambedkar Jayanti (April 14) at Lady Shri Ram College was turned down by the organizers of the SC/ST cell of the college. SFI).
Shri Paswan said that he was very disappointed as he had started preparing for the speech on ‘Ambedkar Beyond Constitution’ and had taken time for it on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti.
“Apart from my political affiliation, I am a Dalit myself, and come from an academic background. I have also co-authored a book architect of modern dalit history and was ready to engage with the students. I feel like my voice has been suppressed. It is shameful,” Mr Paswan said.
‘No orders from college’
In a message informing Mr Paswan that the talks have been cancelled, the organizers said that no such order has come from the college administration, however, disagreeing with this has sparked outrage from the students’ body .
“This is a reaction based on a mix of recent developments in Karnataka and JNU. Since, we want to prevent SC/ST cell environment, especially LSR from becoming a political space instead of academic, it was in the best interest of the institution that this event (sic) be cancelled,” the message read.
Prachi, secretary of the SFI unit in LSR, said that her organization has expressed dissatisfaction over calling someone from the BJP to speak on Ambedkar, even though the speaker has academic credentials. “The BJP has a history of being anti-Dalit and to invite a spokesperson of the party would be to make fun of Ambedkar Jayanti. How can we put aside the politics of a person and see only his work? It cannot be done,” said Ms Prachi.