Will convert to Islam with family if BJP does not act against MLA's husband: Cong Dalit leader
Ahmedabad: Congress Junagadh City SC/ST Unit President Rajesh Solanki has threatened to convert to Islam along with his entire family and many other Dalits if the Gujarat state government did not seek the resignation of BJP MLA from Gondal Geetaba Jadeja and arrest her husband, as the MLA’s son had allegedly assaulted Solanki’s son in May.
Solanki also heads the Junagadh District Backward Class Committee, a Dalit organization, while his son, 26-year-old Sanjay Solanki, is a leader of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI). Sanjay was allegedly assaulted by Jadeja’s son, 25-year-old Jyotiradityasinh Jadeja, also called Ganesh, in May.
The Congress leader met the Junagadh District Collector on Wednesday and collected application forms for government permission for religious conversion, reports The Indian Express.
Solanki had warned before the media on Saturday, July 6, that he, along with around 150 members his extended family, would convert to Islam if action was not taken on the MLA. He gave a deadline of August 15 for the resignation of the BJP legislator and the arrest of her husband for involvement in the assault on Sanjay.
Jyotiradityasinh was booked on May 31 after a police complaint was filed by Sanjay, accusing the MLA’s son and his acquaintances of kidnapping him from Junagadh after a verbal duel over Jyotiradityasinh’s driving. Sanjay complained to the police that he was taken by the group to Gondal, threatened with a pistol, stripped and forced to apologize while the entire scene was recorded on a mobile phone. The police arrested Jyotiradiyasinh and 10 others on charges of attempt to murder and under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. All the accused are presently in judicial custody.
Rajesh Solanki, however, has alleged the involvement of Jyotiradityasinh’s father Jayrajsinh, a former three-time MLA from Gondal, in the kidnapping and assaulting of Sanjay.
Addressing reporters in Junagadh on Wednesday, he said that Gujarat had reported at least 5,000 cases of atrocities on Dalits during the 25-year rule of the BJP in the state. The state government, however, had failed to protect the citizens of Gujarat, he added.
He stated on Thursday that he had given the Gujarat government time till August 15 to take action in the case of assault on Sanjay and warned that his family would take out a protest rally to Gandhinagar and submit memorandums to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. He added that, if the government did not respond positively to their demands, the family would convert to Islam as it made no sense to be part of a religion whose members refused to acknowledge them as fellow Hindus and assaulted them, but were happy to marry their daughters to people who offer namaz.
Junagadh Additional DC NF Chaudhary confirmed that Solanki had collected the forms for conversion, adding that no filled up form had been submitted to them yet. He also said that the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act empowers a district magistrate to ascertain if any individual is seeking conversion out of duress, or if someone is luring an individual to convert.
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Karnataka Lokayukta to register case, probe Bowring wall collapse
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Lokayukta Justice B S Patil on Thursday took serious note of the compound wall collapse at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in the city that killed seven people, and announced registration of a case on its own while warning of action against officials found responsible.
The Lokayukta, who visited the site and conducted an inspection, expressed strong displeasure over the incident and questioned the inaction of authorities, even as police and emergency teams had earlier rushed to the spot to rescue victims trapped under the debris following heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
“I will now register a suo motu case. This is not just about this one incident — such incidents must not occur anywhere in the state or the city in the future,” Justice Patil told reporters.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed as rain-battered victims had taken shelter near it, according to police. The victims included people from Kerala who were in the city on a study tour.
Calling for systemic accountability, the Lokayukta said, “Dilapidated buildings and weakened compound walls, especially in areas with public access, must first be identified. They must either be repaired, demolished, or rebuilt.”
He added that responsibility would be fixed on officials of the BBMP and the concerned departments.
Justice Patil said that hearings would be conducted and preventive action initiated, while also probing those responsible for it, how the incident could have been prevented, and why it was not prevented.
A Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) team and a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team also inspected the site, while police cordoned off Kovil Street to facilitate the probe.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the government had initiated measures following the rain-related incidents and stressed preparedness.
“Since last night we have initiated measures regarding the rains. When it rains heavily, we must be prepared, and we are working towards that,” he told reporters here.
On the wall collapse, Shivakumar said, “I will not directly blame any officials. It was an old wall, and trees had grown alongside it. Due to that pressure, it collapsed.”
The Deputy CM said instructions had been issued to identify such vulnerable structures and clear areas around them, including relocating street vendors.
Karnataka Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil said a technical assessment had been ordered.
“This is a very serious matter. Innocent people have been affected. We are issuing directions to the engineers to find out why this compound wall collapsed and to assess its structural strength,” he told reporters after inspecting the spot.
The Minister noted that the wall was ‘very old’ and required thorough examination to prevent recurrence.
Speaking to reporters, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked the Karnataka government to take precautions to ensure that incidents like the collapse of the Bengaluru government hospital compound wall, which caused loss of life, should not repeat.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad said the collapse raised questions about construction and maintenance practices.
“If a wall collapses within 25 years of its construction, it needs to be examined -- whether there was any technical issue, or if anything was altered inside, weakening it. All this can only come out through a technical investigation,” he said.
The Congress MLA also called for wider structural audits across the city, stating that all such structures, whether private or government, must be audited.
He urged citizens to support victims, saying it was a collective responsibility in times of crisis.
