“ Ek taraf mehengai ne kamar tod di hai, to dusri taraf jaati aur dharm ne gareebi ki oar dhakel diya hai,” said Baijnath Ram, who drives an auto rickshaw in Sector 12 of Gurugram. Belonging to the Dalit community, Baijnath has been residing with his wife and son in Sheetla Colony in old Gurgaon for the last 20 years. “ Ye sarkaar Dalit samaj ko nahi puchti ,” he complained as he pointed at mounts of squalor flanking what could barely be described as a road.
The road leading to Sadar Bazar in Sector 12, old Gurgaon (Photo: Aakriti Handa) As Haryana readies for Assembly elections due on 5 October, the BJP and Congress are increasingly wrangling over issues ailing the state including unemployment, corruption, infrastructure, and violence against minorities. On 28 September, while addressing a rally in Hisar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress of being ‘anti-Dalit', saying the party “kept silent quiet when Dalits faced atrocities.” Responding to this, Congress’ candidate from Gurgaon constituency Mohit Grover told The Quint during an interview that the BJP is a party adept at only “giving out slogans and taunts.
” “Haryana has had a BJP government for the last ten years. Gurugram has had a BJP MP and MLA for the last ten years and look at the condition of this city. There is garbage everywhere.
Infrastructure is crumbling. Is this what you call a Millenium City?” Grover remarked. The Quint went on ground to Gurugram to speak to residents, vo.
