Chouhan’s dilemma on amended SC & ST Act
TROUBLE AHEAD The protests have unnerved the BJP, which is keen to retain its voter traditional base ahead of the assembly polls
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is in a cleft stick over the amended Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The state’s two dominant groups – the upper caste and SC and ST – have opposite stands on the amendment. Chouhan has appeared to appease both.
Upper caste groups have protested against the amendment to overturn a March 2018 Supreme Court judgment that made an inquiry mandatory before booking any person under the law. The SC had called “arbitrary” the law that provided for automatic registration of a case once a complaint was lodged.
Posters put up at many places said upper castes will vote against the BJP if the amendment was not withdrawn.
The protests have unnerved the BJP, which is keen to retain its voter traditional base ahead of the assembly elections.
This prompted Chouhan’s announcement last week that no one will be arrested without proper investigation under the amended law. There was no clarification from the government on how the announcement that contradicts the law will be implemented.
The announcement has brought more trouble.
SC and ST groups have threatened to disrupt Chouhan’s Ashirward Yatra he is undertaking to galvanise support ahead of the elections. They have questioned how his verbal diktat can overrule the law and can be implemented without any explicit order.
The backward communities see it as another move to appease the upper castes at their cost. It can ruin Chouhan’s efforts to woo them with a slew of sops like subsidised power, free school education and housing.
The SC and ST account for 38% of the state’s population
NEWDELHI/BHOPAL: We want to know what is the legal validity of his (Chouhan)’s announcement and how can he overturn a central law without bringing an amendment in the state assembly
SHOBHA OZA, Congress media incharge
while the upper castes are about 12%. The upper castes have been the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s backbone since its formation in the 1980s.
The SC and ST have gravitated towards the BJP over the last 15 years that the party has been in power in Madhya Pradesh.
An official said the police have got the message that nobody should be booked without “detailed” investigation with Chouhan’s announcement. “We will handle the situation when it comes,” the official responded when asked how they will deal with court cases that the instruction could lead to.
Government spokesman Narottam Mishra said they will ensure that no “injustice” is done to anyone. He refused to comment on whether the government will issue any instructions in this regard.
Madhya Pradesh bar council chairman Shivendra Upadhyay said the state has executive powers to say that an inquiry should be conducted before any arrest.
He said a circular has to be issued for it. “The announcement without the circular has no meaning,” he said.
“If the chief minister wants to prevent misuse of the law, then an order should be issued by the secretariat to all police stations. Otherwise, his announcement is nothing but a political gimmick,” said Heeralal Trivedi, who heads an organization of backward classes and minorities, at a protest rally in Bhopal against Chouhan’s announcement on Sunday.
Chouhan’s announcement has given the Congress another opportunity to target the BJP.
“The chief minister’s arbitrary decision clearly shows that the BJP does not care for constitutional rights of the poor and backward people. We want to know what is the legal validity of his (Chouhan)’s announcement and how can he overturn a central law without bringing an amendment in the state assembly,” said Congress media in-charge Shobha Oza.