A mahapanchayat of Dalits was held in New Delhi on 5 September 2005 in the backdrop of the recent Gohana violence in which more than 50 houses belonging to Dalits were torched. The mahapanchayat demanded immediate dismissal of the Hooda government in Haryana for its alleged failure to prevent the incident and award a compensation of Rs 20 lakh for each of the affected families.

The mahapanchayat, which was held under the aegis of the Akhil Bharatiya Valmiki Samaj and attended by thousands of people from Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi and other states, demanded a CBI probe into the violence.

Demanding that criminal proceedings against the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police be launched for their alleged failure to control the situation, the mahapanchayat leaders threatened that if their demands were not met by 18 September 2005, they would hold a big rally against the Congress in Rohtak, where a by-election was scheduled on that day.

“That we want is justice. The government must ensure such an incident should not be repeated anywhere in India, the leaders said. Two MLAs Hariram Valmiki (Haryana) and Brahma Singh (Delhi) said they would quit from their respective Assembly seats if justice was not done to the affected Dalits.