A Dalit surpanch of a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha district alleged that he was not allowed to hoist the Tricolour in a school on Independence Day.
Barelal Ahirwar, the Sarpanch of Bhagwantpur Gram Panchayat in Sironj, alleged that the upper-caster teacher of the school did not allow him to hoist the flag and insulted him for being a Dalit. He also accused the principal of making casteist remarks against him.
“I am a Chamar, so I was not allowed to even touch the flag. It is very normal in Madhyapradesh nowadays,” he said.
Ahirwar said that he was not called to the school and the tricolour flag was hoisted in his absence.
As per the provisions of the Panchayati Raj Act, only the Sarpanch has the right to hoist the flag.
Sironj SDM Harshal Chaudhary has taken cognizance of the matter and he has asked the local authorities to investigate the matter.
Meanwhile, former Union minister and Congress leader Arun Yadav has sought a reply from the chief minister over Ahirwar’s allegations, PTI reported.
