New Delhi: The Janata Dal (United) on Thursday dubbed Rajya Sabha MP Ramdas Athawale's concern for Dalits as 'hypocrisy' after the latter demanded that members of the community be allowed to possess firearms given a 'vertical rise' in incidents of 'atrocities' against them.

'If he (Ramdas Athawale) wants to strengthen the Dalits, then he should first quit BJP, because the BJP is an anti-Dalit Party. The very ideology of the BJP is against Dalits. Does Athawale ji consider people as fools? People of India know everything. This is hypocrisy of Athawale ji,' JD(U) leader Ali Anwar told ANI.