Kathmandu, September 13 :

The Joint Dalit Struggle Committee (JDSC) has expressed concern over the state’s indifference towards the incident of August 26, in which Dalit women were verbally abused and thrown out of the Shaileswori Temple at Silgadhi, the district headquarters of Doti. The women were trying to enter the temple to perform a puja on the occasion of Teej.

It may be noted that the House of Representatives (HoR) has declared Nepal a discrimination-free nation.

Protesting indifference of the state towards the matter, the JDSC had handed over a four-point charter of demands to Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula yesterday.

The committee has called on the government to declare the government officers, who openly defied the HoR declaration by organising a rally supporting discrimination against the Dalits at the district headquarters on September 6, unfit for public service and dismiss them as they had acted against the law of the land. The officers had shouted slogans favouring the tradition of not letting Dalits enter temples. The demand also calls for immediate action against the priest of the temple, members of the Temple Management Committee and other people.

The JDSC comprises senior Dalit activists, members of Dalit organisations affiliated to major political parties, representatives of Dalit NGOs and former members of parliament.