Like Bihar, other states are also going aggressive election campaigning. In Haryana, Baroda’s seat is also facing by-polls. BJP has fielded wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt as their candidate for this seat. BJP´s leader from Haryana and wrestler Babita Phogat had come to campaign for Yogeshwar Dutt. During her campaign speech, Babita Phogat said some controversial words for the Dalit community.
Babita Phogat has been in controversy since she joined BJP last year. She is known to put controversial and inflammatory tweets on her social media accounts as well.
Phogat is the chairperson of the Haryana Women Development Corporation and was campaigning for Yogeshwar Dutt in the ongoing by-elections for the Baroda seat. While addressing a rally here, Babita used the caste specific word “Dedh” for the Dalit community.
Dedh’ is a commonly used derogatory term for Dalits in the State.
The convener of National Alliance for Dalit Human Rights, Rajat Kalsan, has filed a complaint with the Hansi superintendent of police against the 2014 Commonwealth Games medallist and Haryana Women Development Corporation chairperson Babita Phogat to book her under the Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Kalsan stated that while holding a public meeting for BJP candidate for the Baroda assembly constituency by-election, Yogeshwar Dutt, in a village, Babita had used casteist words and abuses against the community. He alleged that despite this remark, Dutt did not try to stop her, it indicated that he also agreed with Babita’s comment.
Babita Phogat is an Indian Common Wealth Gold medalist wrestler. She joined BJP in August 2019 ahead of Lok Sabha Elections later and contested the Haryana assembly election on BJP ticket in 2019 but lost. She has been very vocal on Twitter and regularly tweets against Muslims and “anti-nationals” demanding that “they should be sent to Pakistan”. She had used Islamophobic statement in the past on Twitter during the Tablighi Jamaat issue in the early stage of coronavirus pandemic.
