“If you want to shoot, shoot me,” not my Dalit brothers: Modi

TIL Desk/National/Hyderabad-“If you want to shoot, shoot me,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, as he called for stopping the attacks on Dalits and the politics over it. Making an emotional appeal, he asked people to protect and respect Dalits who have for long been neglected by the society.

“I would like to tell these people that if you have any problem, if you have attack, attack me. Stop attacking my Dalit brethren. If you have to shoot, shoot me, but not my Dalit brothers. This game should stop,” he said addressing BJP workers here.

The Prime Minister said if the country has to progress it cannot ignore key mantras of peace, unity and harmony. “Country’s unity is the main source of country’s development,” he said. His comments come at a time when the NDA government is facing flak over incidents of violence against Dalits and Muslims by cow vigilantes in various states including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.