Dalit protests turned violent in parts of Gujarat as miscreants resorted to vandalising public and private properties.
The violence brought public transport in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Rajkot to a standstill and disrupted rail and state transport services on Monday.
Protesting against the alleged “dilution” of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and observations made by the Supreme Court, dalit groups from across the State turned up in large numbers and blocked the national highways and city roads besides forcibly closing down commercial establishments.
While there were no reports of loss of life or serious conflict between the security forces and rioters, there were isolated reports of scuffle between the crowd and police. After reports of roadblocks and attacks on some bus rapid transit system (BRTS) buses in Ahmedabad, civic authorities suspended the services for the day.
An angry mob in Jamnagar city tore down posters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a bus depot.
"The observations by the Supreme court are against the spirit of Constitution and have hurt us terribly," said Jignesh Mewani, dalit leader and MLA from Vadgam in North Gujarat.
Mewani had also led a rally of dalits in Sarangpur area of Ahmedabad on Monday morning before it turned violent. Angry protests were seen across the State with protesters forcing government establishments, including court premises, to close.
Blaming the Opposition, Gujart Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said: “The Congress is playing politics in the name of dalits and shedding crocodile tears. Everyone knows how they treated Dr Ambedkar when he was alive.”