Congress accuses Raje govt of setting ablaze dalit leader's house

New Delhi: The Congress has accused the BJP government of Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan of setting ablaze the house of one of the party's Dalit leaders and former Rajasthan Minister Bharosi Lal Jatav.

The party on Thursday last said that even as a mob of about 5,000 anti-social elements set ablaze the house of senior Congress leader, the administration remained a 'mute spectator'.

Congress' Scheduled Castes Department head Nitin Raut alleged that the attack was planned in connivance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and not a sudden outburst of the mob.

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"The Congress party strongly condemns the act of atrocity on a Dalit leader and Dalit 'bastis' (ghettos), where the administration played the role of a mute spectator," said Raut in a statement.

"The mob barged into Dalit bastis in the town also and did lots of damage to the houses of poor Dalits.

"The administration was lax and did not act promptly. The police did have the information about such a retaliatory action but failed to avert the arson and loot," he added.