BJP, Cong trade barbs over stir and SC/ST Act
› BJP stands shoulder to shoulder with the Dalit community. All the efforts of the government are aimed at transforming the lives of Dalits.
AMIT SHAH, BJP president
› Atrocities on Dalits and adivasis are increasing and the SC/ST Act is diluted but even then (Prime Minister) Modi didn’t utter a single word.
RAHUL GANDHI, Congress chief
NEW DELHI: The government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to protecting the interests of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes even as Congress accused the ruling party of trying to weaken the legal net that protected the communities.
The two continued to exchange words on a day the Supreme Court began hearing the government’s petition asking the court to review its March 20 order that banned immediate arrests under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The court, however, refused a stay on the order that has caused widespread anger. On Monday, nine people died in clashes during a nationwide shutdown called against the decision.
“At every juncture and in all possible ways, BJP stands shoulder to shoulder with the Dalit community... All the efforts of the Government are aimed at transforming the lives of Dalits,” BJP chief Amit Shah said.
In a string of tweets, Shah tried to reassure the Dalit community, which accounts for 200 million of the country’s 1.3 billion people. The Centre had acted quickly and an “effective review petition has been filed that will protect rights of Dalits”, Shah said.
Home minister Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha that the government was fully committed to protecting the interest of the SC/ST community. The review petition was filed within six working days, the minister said to the Congress’ charge of delay in approaching the apex court.
But Congress chief Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his alleged silence. “Atrocities on Dalits and adivasis are increasing and the SC/ST act is diluted but even then Modi didn’t utter a single word,” he said at a rally in Karnataka.
While the state will vote for a new House on May 12, a string of assembly elections are due later this year and the national polls in 2019. The Congress and other opposition parties are looking to corner the BJP over the SC order.
As a sense of unease prevails among its Dalit leaders, Shah said the party “fully believes in the Constitution given by Babasaheb and the rights it has given to SC/ST communities”.
Continuing the outreach, HRD minister Prakash Javadekar said the government would also file a review petition against a court order that said quota benefits should be extended in departments rather than universities. The Allahabad high court order has sparked concerns of a dip in reserved seats.
Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad dismissed as “unfounded” the Opposition’s charge that the government was late in filing the review plea.
“Where is the delay? And let me ask Rahul Gandhi that did he appeal for peace and calm yesterday?” he said, referring to widespread violence during Monday’s nationwide shutdown called by Dalit organisations.
The Congress rejected the government’s argument that it was not a party to the case. “The law minister has made a factually incorrect statement and misled the country. He should withdraw it and apologise,” Congress leader Anand Sharma told media.
The government’s stand in the Supreme Court was part of the “larger agenda to weaken the security net” and legal protection available to the SCs and STs against atrocities, Sharma said.