Social Justice MoS Dilip Kamble 'castes' himself in controversy

Video surfaces of Dilip Kamble saying he would slap detractors agitating against his ministry because he's 'not Brahmin' to be afraid of doing so

MoS Social Justice Dilip Kamble

While he is the Minister of state for Social Justice, Dilip Kamble is in the news for making remarks that don't befit his ministry. A video of the BJP minister has gone viral where he allegedly said that he'd slap detractors because he's 'not a Brahmin' to be 'scared' of doing so.

Kamble made the controversial remark on the two castes while delivering a speech in Latur on Sunday. His utterance came as a shocker because several of his party seniors, ministers, including his political boss and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, are Brahmins.

Remarked on agitations
Kamble is a Dalit from Pune, which is dominated by the Brahmins and is a junior minister in the social justice department that looks after welfare schemes for underprivileged classes. He was speaking at the inaugural function of Dr BR Ambedkar Social Justice Bhavan in Latur, in presence of labour minister Sambhajirao Nilangekar.

Apparently, the controversial remark was made with reference to agitations that are being held against Kamble's department. A video of the speech has been widely reported on social media.

In his speech, Kamble challenged the protesters to raise slogans in front of him, instead of agitating when he is not around. “The government has closed doors on middlemen and hence, agitations are being staged to defame the government. If you have the guts, then raise the slogans in my presence… I would have slapped them [protestors] hard. I'm a Dalit. Am I a Brahmin to get scared?” he said, much to the astonishment of the audience.

Bura na mano…
Kamble has not denied saying this and neither has he responded to mid-day's repeated attempts for comment on the matter. Nilangekar, meanwhile, has urged people to ignore the statement, saying that it was made on the occasion of Holi. Chief spokesperson of state BJP, Madhav Bhandari, said the party would seek information from the minister before making any statement.

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