NEW DELHI: Justifying the assault on Dalits in Una (Gujarat) by cow vigilante group, BJP MLA from Hyderabad Raja Singh said that Dalits who were found with dead cows or cow meat deserved to be beaten.
"It was good that Dalits, who were taking cows or cow meat, were beaten. I support this act. I support all those who, on their own, had thought them a good lesson," Singh said in a video uploaded on his Facebook page.
The BJP legislature also extended his support to the cow vigilantes for thrashing Dalit youths in Una.
"I would like communicate this to everybody that if anyone kills cow, he will be thought a lessons in similar way in future. Do remember this," he said.
On July 11, four Dalit youths who skinned dead animals for a living were thrashed with rods, chained to a car and dragged to a police station after being accused of slaughtering a cow. Their assailants were all part of the Gau Rakshak Dal, a cow protection group.
The public assault led to a backlash, with a section of Dalits in the BJP-ruled state dumping carcasses in protest, exposing neighbourhoods to a civic nightmare.