The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday took out a “Jai Bhim Yatra” in Delhi’s Karol Bagh Assembly constituency to protest the attack on Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai, who hails from a Dalit background. Led by Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj, AAP workers dressed in blue marched through the streets chanting “Baba Saheb ka apmaan, nahi sahega Hindustan” in defiance of the BJP’s “silence and complicity” in attacks on Dalits.
The AAP Delhi Unit President said BJP trolls have been continuously abusing and insulting the Dalit CJI on social media, but the central government has taken no action. “The same BJP that shelters such hate in Delhi must look towards Punjab, where the AAP government has registered multiple FIRs against elements trying to incite violence against Dalits,” he said. Karol Bagh MLA Vishesh Ravi and several AAP workers joined the march, vowing to defend Babasaheb Ambedkar’s legacy and resist the growing hatred being fuelled against the Dalit community.
During this, AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj said the act of a lawyer hurling a shoe at the CJI inside the Supreme Court was deeply shameful, but what is even more disgraceful is the wave of casteist abuse that followed online. “For the past two days, BJP’s social media trolls have been using filthy language against the Dalit community. They are targeting the Chief Justice with slurs, and even Babasaheb Ambedkar is being insulted. Yet, the BJP government at the Centre has taken no action. No one has been arrested, no social media accounts have been suspended. It is now clear that the central government stands with these venomous elements and is actively protecting them,” Saurabh Bharadwaj said.
The AAP Delhi unit chief added that the AAP government in Punjab has filed several FIRs against those attempting to incite violence against Dalits. “These poisonous forces are conspiring to divide the country, and our government in Punjab has begun strict legal action against them,” he said.
Speaking about the protest, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Today, we held a small yatra to register our opposition to this shameful episode. We raised slogans of ‘Jai Bhim’ and offered floral tributes at the statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar. We once again demand that the central government take the strictest possible action against these trolls. If it fails to do so, the AAP government in Punjab will register cases and take action against them.”
He further said that the BJP has always been uncomfortable seeing a Dalit rise to the nation’s highest constitutional position. “The BJP is unable to tolerate a Dalit person occupying such a high post. Moreover, the Chief Justice’s mother, a respected social worker, was invited as the chief guest at an RSS event in Maharashtra marking its centenary. But she declined, clearly stating that she is an Ambedkarite and will not attend an RSS programme. That decision has deeply angered the BJP-RSS, which is now targeting the entire family,” Saurabh Bharadwaj said.
Commenting on the lawyer involved in the incident, Saurabh Bharadwaj added, “The lawyer, Rakesh Kishore, is claiming to be a Dalit himself. Even if he is, his act of hurling a shoe is absolutely wrong. His mindset reflects prejudice and discrimination. Moreover, there is no proof or certificate confirming that he belongs to a Dalit community. What is clear, however, is that the Chief Justice is being insulted precisely because he is Dalit.”
He said that AAP gathered in Karol Bagh today to send a message of unity. “This country is one. We stand firmly against the BJP’s attempts to divide society along caste lines. We appeal to the central government to act decisively against its social media trolls,” he said.
Karol Bagh MLA Vishesh Ravi, who also joined the march, said the BJP is spreading a dangerous and systematic mindset of hatred against Dalits. “This organisation keeps testing different communities — it takes small steps against them and checks how much resistance it faces. If the opposition is weak, it advances its conspiracy further; if the backlash is strong, it retreats. Today’s ‘Jai Bhim Yatra’ by AAP was a strong show of resistance against that poisonous mindset,” Vishesh Ravi said.
He warned that any further atrocities or harassment against Dalits would face an equally strong response from the community. “If the BJP dares to target Dalits or those who stand with them, Delhi’s Dalit community will respond brick for brick,” declared the AAP MLA.
