‘Govt policies, not Brahmins, caused injustice to Dalits’

Chalavadi Narayanaswamy spent much of his 45-year career in Congress before joining BJP in 2018.

Two weeks ago, BJP appointed Narayanaswamy as leader of the Opposition in Legislative Council, and has emerged as one of the saffron party’s prominent Dalit faces. DH’s N B Hombal spoke to Narayanaswamy on BJP and Dalit politics.

Excerpts

Why do you think you were picked as leader of the Opposition in the Upper House?

I think it was part of the BJP’s social justice. The BJP is often branded as anti-Dalit and anti-social justice - essentially a bogey created by Congress. I was picked to prove such notions wrong.

How would you describe the relationship between BJP and Dalits?

BJP and its leadership have always come under scrutiny and this is largely due to Congress, which has succeeded in portraying the party as anti-Dalit. Congress always tries to exploit fault lines by pitting Dalits against Brahmins. Post-independence, if any community has come under severe criticism across the country, it is undoubtedly the Brahmins. But I’ve never seen a single Brahmin criticising others. They simply work hard to achieve their goals in life. It’s time for us (Dalits) to ponder over Congress’ politicking. And, we must ask whether or not Brahmins have caused injustice to us (Dalits)? Let’s not dig back into centuries. It’s time for us to think, has any Brahmin caused injustice to Dalits in recent years post-independence? Injustice was heaped upon Dalits by policies of successive governments. No government has spent on welfare of SCs. For instance, the Congress government claims to have spent Rs 3.5 lakh crore since 2013 under SC/ST sub-plans. Has it reached real beneficiaries? The answer is no.

Do you believe there’s a shortage of Dalit leaders in BJP?

My elevation has proved that BJP is in favour of Dalits. The BJP has always picked Dalit leaders. But we (Dalit Leaders) need to bring more leaders into the party. BJP recognises deserving people and encourages them to grow in the party. It’ll be my responsibility to bring more youths from my community into the party.

Don’t you agree that BJP failed to counter the notion that the party will change the Constitution and end reservation?

I agree that Congress succeeded in launching this false propaganda. Most Dalits are innocent. They don’t understand the machinations of Congress and fell into their trap. For Dalits, Constitution is the legacy of Dr Ambedkar.

How do you plan to counter this narrative?

Although we campaigned hard to counter the narrative, our people were not that receptive. Congress carried out elaborate campaigns in SC colonies. BJP has to have sustained campaigns against Congress. The foot march to Mysuru is part of this sustained campaign. We are highlighting how Congress duped Dalits - diversion of SC/ST funds, embezzlement at the ST Development Corporation and how the CM forcibly took land belonging to SCs in Mysuru.

How do you, as a Dalit leader, respond to criticism that the RSS is anti-Constitution and pro-Manusmriti?

As far as my knowledge goes, the RSS - with whom I have little association - is one institution that doesn’t follow the caste system. Not everyone in BJP is linked to RSS. There are many people like me who have almost no connection with RSS. Manusmriti is a forgotten script, which was kept alive by Congress with the sole intention to target RSS. Where is Manusmriti? Can anyone show me a Manusmirti script?

What’s your party’s stand on internal quotas among SCs?

Congress has always been against this. Instead of solving such problems, Congress has played a role in complicating them. BJP has already shown its commitment in providing internal reservation as well as enhancing the quota for SC/STs. After the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Congress government here should take steps in resolving this long-pending issue by taking every section of SCs into confidence. Internal reservation can’t be granted based on criteria such as rich-poor or educated-uneducated. It should be based on share of population.