New Delhi, Sep 19 (IANS): Launching a scathing attack on the Nitish Kumar government over the burning down of houses in Nawada district, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said even Dalit's screams could not awake the Bihar government from a deep slumber.

Stepping up the attack, Rahul Gandhi posted on social media platform X, "Setting afire entire colony of Mahadalits in Nawada and destroying the houses of more than 80 families highlights the horrifying picture of injustice against the Bahujans in Bihar."

The cries of the Dalit families, who lost their homes and property, and the terror created in the deprived society by the fierce firing could not "awake" the Bihar government which is "sleeping", he said.

Gandhi alleged that such anarchist elements find "shelter" under the leadership of BJP and its NDA allies, they "intimidate and "suppress" the Bahujans so that the latter cannot even demand their social and constitutional rights.

"And, the silence of the Prime Minister is a seal of approval on this big conspiracy," his post read.

He demanded strict action against all the culprits for the shameful crime and sought justice for the victims' families by rehabilitating them.

AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also condemned the incident and said the act was extremely horrifying.

Hitting out at the Nitish government, she said that the Nawada incident showed the collapse of law and order.

In a post on X, she said, "Firing dozens of rounds creating terror and rendering people homeless shows that the law and order situation in the state has completely collapsed."

The common rural poor are forced to live under the shadow of insecurity and fear, she claimed

She demanded strict action against the accused and proper rehabilitation of all victims.

On Wednesday, houses in a Dalit colony were set afire. Sunil Kumar, the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Sadar-2, Nawada district, confirmed that the incident stemmed from a property dispute.