“People who believed in Manusmriti…”: LoP Rahul Gandhi on Parbhani violence

Parbhani (Maharashtra) [India], December 23 (ANI): Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday called the death of Somnath Suryawanshi “government-sponsored” and alleged that the people who “believed in Manusmriti have taken their lives.”

“The murder of Somnath Suryavanshi is government-sponsored. He was a Dalit and was defending the Constitution. People who believed in Manusmriti have taken their lives,” Rahul Gandhi posted on X.

Rahul Gandhi, state Congress President Nana Patole and other Congress leaders visited Maharashtra’s violence-hit Parbhani and paid homage.

Meanwhile, Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad held Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis responsible for the Parbhani violence.

“The CM is responsible for all this as he could have controlled the situation in Parbhani but he was busy with the cabinet… The post-mortem report of the deceased says that multiple injuries led to death,” Gaikwad said.

Congress MP Praniti Shinde said that the government is “misleading and hiding facts.”

“The government is misleading and hiding facts… His (deceased) family was also informed after the death while it should have been done after the police arrested him. A lot of loopholes are there and we are demanding a judicial inquiry of it,” Praniti Shinde said.

After meeting the victims, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the victim was “murdered” because he was a Dalit and was “protecting” the Constitution.

“I have met the family and those who have been killed and beaten up. They showed me the post-mortem report, videos, photographs. This is 100 per cent a custodial death. He has been murdered and the Chief Minister lied in the Assembly to give a message to the police. This young man was killed because he was a Dalit and was protecting the Constitution,” Rahul Gandhi told reporters.

Violence erupted in Parbhani city on December 10 following the alleged vandalism of a replica of the Indian Constitution. Special Inspector General of Nanded, Shahaji Umap, earlier stated that around 50 people had been arrested, and eight cases registered in connection with the violence.

The family members of deceased Somnath Suryawnashi have demanded a death sentence for the accused police officer under whose custody Suryawanshi died.