A Trinamool Congress parliamentary delegation today visited the village of Mota Samadhiyala, about 10 km from the town of Una, in Gir-Somnath district, Gujarat, to meet the victims of the incident of July 11. On that day, in Una, a group of four Dalit men were mercilessly beaten up for skinning a dead cow.
The delegation, led by Leader, Parliamentary Party, Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien, expressed solidarity with the families of the Dalit victims. They also met the villagers, including the village elders, and encouraged the community to continue their fight against the injustice meted out to them.
Earlier during the day, the delegation had visited Rajkot Civil Hospital, listening to the heart-wrenching stories first-hand from the four Dalit men who were beaten up. Derek O’Brien pointed out, “Speaking about it in Parliament is one thing, as we did earlier in the week, but hearing the stories directly from these hapless victims of organised crime is another.”
He also said, “They were simply doing their work – skinning a carcass. Our view is that whatever is happening in the name of ‘gau raksha’ is wrong. We want unity in diversity. We came here to show our solidarity.”
Earlier in the week West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had called the incident “organised crime.”