Dalit leaders walk out of meeting convened by CM

Dalit leaders walk out of meeting convened by CM

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, December 1, 2011 :  Dalit leaders walked out of a meeting called by D. V. Sadananda Gowda, the chief minister of Karnataka, after alleging that the state government was trying to adopt a policy of divide and rule for Dalits.

The chief minister had called this meeting at the Vidhana Soudha to discuss Dalit issues and had invited the leaders of nine Dalit organizations to participate.

M. Venkataswamy, the president of the Samata Sainik Dal (state level), objected to the fact that only 9 organizations were invited. In response, the CM said that it was not easy to invite representatives of all the Dalit organizations, owing to which he had decided to address only a few organizations.

The Dalit leaders, who were annoyed with his response, walked out of the meeting.