http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090919/jsp/nation/story_11514157.jsp
Dalit leader evicted, Cong office ransacked OUR CORRESPONDENT Athawale New Delhi, Sept. 18: Dalit leader Ramdas Athawale, who was evicted today from his posh Lodhi estate bungalow here, alleged that the Congress was victimising him for his refusal to offer support to the party in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections. Supporters of Athawale, who is the president of the Republican Party of India (RPI), vandalised the Congress office in South Mumbai. The air-conditioned office, which was renovated and re-christened Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan and inaugurated by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi a few days ago, bore the brunt of the fury of Athawale’s supporters, 23 of whom were arrested later. Athawale sort of defended the vandalism, saying he had no regrets about it as the eviction had hurt “popular Dalit sentiments”. RPI, which was a close ally of the Congress, recently broke away from the party to join the third front ahead of the Assembly elections in Maharashtra, scheduled for October 13. Athawale, who has been staying in the bungalow for the past 12 years having been a four-time MP, lost from Shirdi in the last general elections. He was served a notice to move out of the house on August 12 and was given a month’s time. Urban development ministry sources said officials had visited the bungalow several times to remind Athawale’s staff as it had already been allotted to a newly elected MP. September 3 was the last day of the notice after which the leader was given 15 more days to pack up. Today officials emptied the house completely. But unlike yesterday when BJP MP Nand Kumar Sai’s belongings were dumped on the street outside his flat, Athawale’s belongings were kept in the yard. Athawale, who is in Maharashtra preparing for the polls, said it was “politically motivated”. “It’s a vendetta by the Congress against me. They are targeting me because I rejected their offer of contesting elections with them. This is how the Congress has repaid me for the friendship and loyalty that I had shown for the past 19 years,” he said. “They deliberately gave me the Shirdi seat this time. Senior leaders of the Congress party are politicking against us. They are targeting me because I am a Dalit. I had asked the Lok Sabha house committee to give me three-four months’ time to vacate the house,” he added. Athawale’s allegation of caste bias by the Congress comes close on the heels of Sai accusing the ministry of picking him because he belonged to the Scheduled Caste. However, ministry officials refuted these allegations. ------------------------------------ ---- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTCaste mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to zestmedia-dig...@yahoogroups.com, OR, if you have a Yahoo! Id, change your settings at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/join/ PARTICIPATE:- On this list you can share caste news, discuss caste issues and network with like-minded anti-caste people from across India and the world. Just write to zestcaste@yahoogroups.com TELL FRIENDS TO SIGN UP:- If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a blank mail to zestcaste-subscr...@yahoogroups.com OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join/ Also have a look at our sister list, ZESTMedia: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTMedia/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:zestcaste-dig...@yahoogroups.com mailto:zestcaste-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: zestcaste-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
