New Gujarat governor 'assures' Dalits he would work to end untouchability in state

By A Representative
Gujarat Dalit community representatives, who met governor Acharya Dev Vrat to congratulate him for taking over the constitutional post in Gujarat, have handed over a list of demands to end untouchability especially in the state’s rural areas. Meeting the governor at Raj Bhawan, Gandhinagar , the statement issued by them following the meeting claimed that they had a “a positive discussion on the issue and discussed the abolition of untouchability.”
During the meeting, the governor said, several of the Dalits’ problems were solved when he was the governor in Himachal Pradesh. Temples put up boards allowing access of Dalits in temples, which wasn’t the case earlier. The governor, who asserted he was a follower of Arya Samaj, said, he spread the message of equality and harmony by having meal in Dalit households in Himachal Pradesh, adding, he was determined to eradicate the stigma of harassment in Gujarat.
Those who met the governor included Kirit Rathore, Kanti Parmar, PK Kalapi, Kanubhai Sumeras, Pravin Shrimali, Bhimbhai Parmar, Kiritraj Solanki, Kanubhai Gamanpura, and Jagadishbhai Parmar.