Day after Dalit protests, death toll rises to 11
JAIPUR/BHOPAL: Fresh violence broke out in Rajasthan on Tuesday as a 5,000-strong mob set ablaze the houses of a sitting and a former MLA, both Dalits, even as the death toll from yesterday's nationwide stir by Dalit groups rose to 11 with two more persons succumbing to their injuries in Madhya Pradesh.
While the Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to stay its recent order on the SC/ST Act, which had triggered the Bandh call by Dalit organisations that alleged the move diluted their constitutional rights, the government maintained that it was not responsible for any dilution and that it was fully committed to protecting the interests of the backward communities.
Normal life was thrown out of gear in more than 10 states, most of them Bjp-ruled, with widespread violence during the protests called by Dalit organisations yesterday with pollbound Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan bearing the maximum brunt. Counter-protests were reported today from Rajasthan, where traders' groups and members of other castes hit the streets over the damage caused yesterday.
In Alwar district, where a man was killed yesterday, people staged a sit-in protest, refusing to cremate the body of the victim. The houses of a sitting and a former MLA, both Dalits, were set afire by a violent mob this afternoon in Hindaun town in Karauli district of Rajasthan, following which curfew was imposed in the area, a senior official said.
A mob comprising nearly 5,000 people set ablaze the houses of sitting MLA Rajkumari Jatav and former MLA Bharosilal Jatav in Hindaun, District Collector, Karauli, Abhimanyu Kumar said.
While Rajkumari Jatav is from the ruling BJP, Bharosilal Jatav is a former Congress legislator who had also served as a minister in the state.
The agitated members of the traders' associations and upper castes took out a pro- cession in Hindaun today and tried to enter the Sc/st-dominated areas, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) NRK Reddy said.
"The police lobbed tear gas shells and resorted to canecharging and firing rubber bullets to disperse the mob," he added. Superintendent of Police (SP), Karauli, Anil Kayal said after the incidents of arson and violence, nearly 40 people were detained in Hindaun.
According to the police, tension also prevailed in Churu and Gangapur city, where the law-and-order situation remained "critical". Curfew was clamped in Gangapur city last night. In Madhya Pradesh, the death toll from the violence that broke out during Dalit protests yesterday rose to eight with two more persons succumbing to injuries. NAINITAL: The Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday asked the chief secretary to file an affidavit explaining why NCERT books should be compulsory in CBSE schools.
In a writ filed by private schools, school trusts, school associations and others along with book publishers, it was pointed out that NCERT books have become mandatory not only in Cbse-affiliated government schools but even in those which fall in the category of private schools. The single bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia of the high court asked the chief secretary to answer the questions posed in the petition by April 11 when the matter comes up next for hearing.
The questions raised in the writ petition include as to how many NCERT books are printed as opposed to the number of students who require such books.
It also asks about the kind of training given to teachers of the institutions where such books were mandatory.
When the NCF code clearly stated that multiple courses might be taught then why was emphasis laid on NCERT specific syllabi and lastly when these books were not compulsory in ICSC curriculum then why had they become such a big need for the CBSE based syllabi, the writ asked. NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was on Tuesday once again appointed as the Leader of the Rajya Sabha following his re-election to the House.
The 65-year-old Jaitley's term had ended on Monday. Upon re-election from Uttar Pradesh, he has again been named as Leader of the House, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
When the House met for the day, Naidu said he has received a letter from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar stating that the prime minister has appointed Jaitley as the Leader of the Rajya Sabha.
Incidentally, Jaitley did not take oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. 41 out of the 58 newly elected and reelected members took oath on Tuesday.
Naidu said Jaitley was the Leader of the House but his term expired yesterday and on re-election he has again been appointed as the Leader of the House.
In June, 2014, Jaitley was apppointed leader of the House in Rajya Sabha.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the Leader of the House in Lok Sabha.