AHMEDABAD: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has issued an urgent notice to the district Collector and Superintendent of Police of Banaskantha district in Gujarat, demanding an explanation over a recent incident wherein the Dalits were kept out of a temple festival in Kalyanpura, Vav taluka.The incident took place during the Pran Pratishtha Mahotsav at Shiv Mandir, where Dalit individuals were excluded from participation. Despite efforts by Hindu awakening organizations to include them, the contributions of Dalits were outrightly rejected, prompting the Commission to take swift action.The Prana Pratishtha Mahotsav at Kalyanpura village, held from February 8 to 10, spiraled into controversy following the exclusion of Dalits. The issue came to light on January 16, when Gandhinagar’s Indrajitsinh Sodha discovered the discrimination. Attempts to resolve the matter began on January 25 when Indravadan Barot and Shankarbhai Patel visited Kalyanpura, meeting with temple chief administrator Bhalabhai Daiya, who promised to consult the temple committee. However, no resolution followed, and despite further talks with Scheduled Caste leaders, including a visit by Raghuveer Singh Jadeja on February 1, Daiya remained unresponsive.
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