CM announces commission for deprived sections
Adityanath gets Dalit Mitra award
LUCKNOW : Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday announced that his government would set up a commission to suggest measures to provide benefits of government schemes to the deprived sections in Uttar Pradesh.
He made the announcement even as the Ambedkar Mahasabha on Saturday conferred the ‘Dalit Mitra’ award on him, a move that sparked protests outside the venue of the function.
“We will set up a commission to suggest measures to ensure that benefits of government schemes are provided to the people of state. We will start the process of giving benefits of government schemes to those who have been so far deprived of such facilities,” said the chief minister.
He was speaking at a programme organised at the Ambedkar Mahasabha’s office here to mark the 127th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar, the chief architect of India’s Constitution.
As part of the award, a chair with the words ‘Dalit Mitra’ painted on it was presented to Yogi along with a white shawl and a bust of BR Ambedkar.
In a bid to portray Yogi’s proDalit image, a Mahasabha functionary said a Dalit had always worked in Yogi’s kitchen at the Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur for years. The award to Yogi has come when political parties are vying with each other to woo the Dalits ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, Dalit activist and retired IPS officer SR Darapuri, retired IAS officers Harish Chandra and two others Gajodhar Prasad and NS Chaurasia, were taken into custody while protesting at the Mahasabha gates.
“I am an executive committee member of Ambedkar Mahasabha. We have been opposing the decision to give the Dalit Mitra award to the chief minister as atrocities against the Dalits have gone up during the tenure of this government,” said Darapuri on the phone after being taken into preventive custody.
Yogi declared an increase in scholarships being given to the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students in the state. He said the previous government gave scholarship to only 14 lakh out of 21 lakh SC/ST students. Yogi said his government had given the scholarship to all the 21 lakh SC/ST students.
He also said the number of SC/ST students to be given scholarship had now been increased to 23 lakh now and the income limit of family of eligible students had been increased from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh.
The amount of pre-matric (Class 10) scholarship had been increased from Rs 2250 to Rs 3000 now, he said.
Yogi lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for developing five buildings associated with the life of BR Ambedkar as the ‘Panch Tirth’ (five pilgrimage centres) for Dalits. Referring to Ambedkar Mahasabha president Lalji Prasad Nirmal’s demand for releasing those arrested only on the basis of suspicion of involvement in April 2 protests, the chief minister said he had already given instructions to ensure that innocents were not victimised, while those responsible for violence were not spared. Action would be taken against those responsible for acting against the poor or the Dalits, he said.