New Delhi, Jul 29 (NIE): Hitting out at the BJP for the rising incidents of mob violence and lynching in states ruled by it, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said they have created an atmosphere of fear among Dalits and religious minorities.

Gandhi in a letter written to the Schedule Caste (SC) Department of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) said that it is important for the party to reach out to the victims of the “mindless violence” and publicly support them. Gandhi alleged that the current dispensation, has allowed the “climate of fear” and lawlessness “to not only prevail but also flourish. The hate speeches made by various BJP ministers and leaders exhorting their followers to target certain communities “encourages local goons to act with impunity”, he added.

In his letter, dated July 27, Gandhi said, “The country will not accept the Narendra Modi government’s act of spreading violence and hatred. We are standing here against that ideology.” “We will stand against it all our life…and we will defeat them in 2019 elections.”

Gandhi has been vocal for the rights of the backward classes in the past and has been continuously attacking the Modi government at Centre over issues pertaining to the backward classes. Back in April, Gandhi had claimed that Dalit MPs from the BJP refer to PM Modi as casteist. “When you talk to them (BJP MPs) in Parliament, they tell us that Modi-ji is casteist and anti-Dalit. Modi-ji does not have any place in his heart for Dalits. The entire nation knows this — it is not a secret,” Gandhi had said.