No buses on Jaipur roads after violence
: Dalit protesters were on the rampage during ‘Bharat Bandh’ in Jaipur on Monday.
The protesters, some wearing blue head bands, carrying blue flags and sticks, raised slogans of ‘Jai Bheem’ and ‘Jab tak suraj chand rahega, Baba tera naam rahega’ and marched across the city in an apparent show of strength.
The protesters broke windscreens of at least 100 vehicles in the city and also damaged some shops. “They blocked the Tonk Road railway crossing briefly, apart from obstructing traffic on the Tonk Road for about three hours,” said Kunwar Rastradeep, deputy commissioner of police, Jaipur East. The rallying protesters also caused a jam on the Sikar road for a few hours.
Due to the violence, the plying of buses was also stopped from Sindhi Camp Bus stop to other cities. Metro services in Jaipur were also suspended for two hours from 11.15 am.
Jaipur police commissioner Sanjay Agrawal said that although police used mild force to disperse protesters at a few places, no clash between the protesters and police took place in the city. At the Collectorate Circle too, the protesters blocked the road and raised slogans of Dalit unity demanding that there be no “chhed-chhaad (tampering)” with the SC/ST Act.
Chand Mal Kala (65), who was part of the protest at Collectorate, said that the courts were trying to weaken the defence shield of the Dalits. “The changes in the SC/ST Act should be revoked immediately. If our demands are not met, we will continue our protest,” said Kala, the Balai Samaj president.
Another protester Kunal Daboriya (23) said that earlier people were afraid of making casteist remarks against Dalits. “They were afraid of legal action. Now, they will openly say those things. Our oppression will only increase,” said Daboriya, a political science student.
JAIPUR The violence on Supreme Court’s order over SC/ST atrocities act is unfortunate. The RSS does not agree with the order and the government, by filing a review petition in the apex court, has taken an appropriate decision