New Delhi: Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Aazad who sustained a bullet injury after his convoy was shot at in Uttar Pradesh late last month has blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state for the attack on him.On June 28, four assailants shot at the founder of the Azad Samaj Party in Saharanpur’s Deoband, where he had gone to attend a function at a supporter’s house. A bullet grazed his abdomen. He was in his car when the attack took place, and a worker of his party, Manish, was behind the wheel.Speaking to The Wire, Aazad said there was a “political conspiracy” behind the attack.“The way the Bhim Army is growing across the country and the ideas that are guiding the Bhim Army and the Azad Samaj Party’s work have made the BJP-RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] fearful,” Aazad said. “The attack on me has been carried out under the protection of those in power because when you are not able to stop someone the only option you have is to kill them. BJP has understood that it is not easy to stop the Bhim Army and the Azad Samaj Party. ‘That is why their leader should be killed so that others too get scared’, they thought,” he added.Last week, The Indian Express reported that four young men were arrested for the attack, after a joint operation by the Haryana Special Task Force and Uttar Pradesh police.Police said that of the four, three have a criminal record including charges of attempted murder, assault and intimidation, and were out on bail.“Police have admitted that three of the accused have criminal cases. Those whose work is to kill people cannot be the custodians of any community,” Aazad said.The three with previous criminal charges are all residents of Rankhandi in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district. They are Vikas alias Vicky, Prashant and Lavish alias Abhishek. The fourth accused, also named Vikas, is a taxi driver from Haryana’s Karnal district. All of them are members of the ‘upper’ caste Rajput community. They told police that they attacked the Dalit leader as they were upset by his statements.VIDEO | "We have arrested four persons – Vicky from Haryana, another Vicky from Rankhandi, Prashant and Lavish – from Haryana. They carried out the attack because they were not happy with some of the remarks of Chandrashekhar Azad," says Saharanpur Police on attack on Bhim Army… pic.twitter.com/2k5HTKUyac— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 2, 2023‘A political conspiracy’Police said last week that they seized two country-made pistols, cartridges and a car allegedly used in the crime based on the information provided by the accused.“How did they get weapons? Who gave them these weapons? Police have to answer these questions,” Aazad said. “Police said that there was no planning but that they suddenly found out about my convoy and decided to fire on me. This is an almost laughable statement.”“Police statements show that they are protecting people in high places and that the mastermind of this incident is being protected. This was a political conspiracy and people in the government are involved,” he alleged.According to Aazad, the attack on him shows that the Adityanath government’s claims on the law and order situation in UP improving are hollow.“We provided their [the accused persons’] identity to the police. We told the police about their car number and that they had automatic weapons. This shows intelligence failure on the part of the police that people who possess weapons are roaming freely and the police know nothing about it,” Aazad said.“If a person like me can be attacked then what will happen to the security of the common man? How can the common man be safe?” he added.Aazad said that he was attacked because the BJP government knows that he is not scared of being jailed.“The BJP government knows that they cannot scare me with the CBI-ED [Central Bureau of Investigation-Enforcement Directorate] cases or by putting me in jail.”‘Mahatma Gandhi or Phoolan Devi’Last July Aazad was arrested and spent two days in judicial custody in Jaipur after reaching the city to join a protest by COVID Health Assistants, demanding permanent positions.Police said that his “preventive” arrest was made as Section 144 was in force after tailor Kanhaiya Lal’s murder in Udaipur.In December 2019 he was arrested and jailed for a month after he led a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Delhi.In September 2018 he was released after 15 months in jail.He had been booked under the NSA for his alleged role in the violence that took place in Shabbirpur, a village in Saharanpur district, in May 2017.“I am not the only person to be targeted like this – whether it is Mahatma Gandhi or Phoolan Devi whoever speaks up about injustices is killed. Without the cooperation of those in power such an attack is not possible.”While Aazad is recovering from his injury, he said that the attack has not made him fearful in any way.“There is no question of fear, yes but I have become more cautious. NCRB [National Crime Records Bureau] data shows that every 30 minutes a woman is raped or killed in our country. My life is not important, but it is important to highlight the injustices that lower castes, Dalits and Adivasis face,” he said.He said he was given a second life with the attack.“My previous life was also dedicated to the deprived sections of society and this life too will be dedicated to their upliftment and I will continue to fight for them,” he said.‘Lower castes never considered humans’Referring to the recent incidents of atrocities against people from Dalit and Adivasi communities that have made national headlines, Aazad said that such attacks have continued because the people and parties who have held positions of power “have never considered the lower castes as human beings.”Earlier this week a video surfaced on social media in which a man identified as Pravesh Shukla, allegedly a BJP worker, was seen urinating on the face of an Adivasi worker.Amid outrage, Shukla was arrested and his house was demolished to send out a “strong message”. Later Madhya Pradesh’s BJP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited the victim’s house and washed his feet in front of cameras.In Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra, a Dalit man was allegedly assaulted and forced to lick the shoes of a contractual power worker on ThursdayReferring to the two incidents Aazad said that they show a clear trend. “Since elections are coming in MP they [BJP] will wash their feet, they will eat with them. But since UP elections are not around the corner, the chief minister does not care…These injustices will end only when the deprived sections of society will become aware and will have political power. Even now the fact they are not considered as human beings is because those who have been in political parties and held power, they have not considered them so,” he said.“These incidents will not stop till these deprived sections take hold of political power,” he added.Aazad said that his political outfit, the Azad Samaj Party, which he founded in 2020, will contest the upcoming assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on the plank of uplifting the lives of the deprived sections of society.“We are conducting rallies, strengthening our booth level organisation, raising awareness around SC-ST [Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes] communities and making a list of possible candidates. I believe that in these elections people will vote not for those who have money power but those who are doing work.” ‘Alliance only if we align on issues’According to Azaad, while opposition parties are holding meetings to put up what could possible be a joint fight against BJP in the 2024 general elections, alliances can only be worked out if they align on issues of ending caste-based injustices.Last month, 16 opposition parties met in Patna to decide on a joint opposition front to fight the BJP. The second meeting to finalise plans will be held in Bengaluru later this month.When asked if he is in talks with any of these opposition parties, Azaad said that a decision has not yet been taken by his party.“Any opposition alliance will be decided on the basis of the party’s ideologies and principles. The party’s core committee will take a decision and this will be communicated later,” he said.The attack on Azad has been condemned by various political parties including by leaders of the Samajwadi Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Congress, and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, among others.“Our agenda is clear, that is to highlight caste based violence especially especially against women, ensure promotions on the basis of reservations, clear the backlog in reserved posts in government appointments for SC/ST and OBCs. These are our main issues,” he said.“If we align on these issues only then can we build an alliance. All parties know change cannot be brought without Dalits and Adivasis so for any opposition alliance to be successful they have to be taken together,” he added.