The ruling BJP on Monday reeled under the Opposition onslaught over widespread violence following the Bharat Bandh called by various Dalit organisations against the “dilution” of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.
From Congress President Rahul Gandhi to BSP supremo Matawati, the Left parties and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, the common accusation was that the BJP was responsible for the violence and the Supreme Court’s “reversal” of the spirit of the law.
Review petition filed
Although the Centre filed a review petition against the apex court’s March 20 order on Monday, activists including Bhimrao Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar maintained that the Centre has only acted under pressure, following countrywide protests. .
Mayawati, who was in Noida while agitations raged across Uttar Pradesh, said her party was “capable of bringing the government to its knees” if the case law was not amended. Charging the BJP of being “anti-Dalit”, she said the ruling party’s mindset was “propelling Dalits towards slavery”.
Rahul “saluted” the Dalit organisations and said: “It is in the DNA of the BJP/RSS to keep Dalits at the bottom rung of the society. Whoever challenges this order is crushed with violence. Thousands of my Dalit brothers and sisters have come out on the roads to demand protection of their rights from the government. We salute them.”
Later, addressing a joint press conference, the Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad asserted that the Centre was responsible for the violence “because for 10 days while Parliament has been in session, they did nothing to move any amendment in the SC order.”
“We blame the government entirely for the loss of lives and property and the agony that has been caused to one-fourth of the country’s population by the reversal of the spirit of SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act,” said Azad. “This government, which passed the Finance Bill without discussion, which is pressing all sorts of legislations as money bills without the consent of the Upper House, sat for 10 days while the Dalit and Adivasi communities watched their rights trampled upon. They send their highest law officers to convince the courts when they have to prosecute and target their political opponents. But when it came to Dalits and Adivasis, neither the Attorney General nor his Deputy was assigned with the task to protect their rights.”
Appeal for peace
Mamata, appealing for peace, said: “We are shocked and pained that some of my Dalit brothers and sisters have been killed and injured. We support their cause.”
According to the CPI(M) Politburo, the response to the call for a Bharat Bandh by various Dalit organisations was widespread in States like Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh and this showed the anger against the Supreme Court’s decision to “dilute the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act”.
“The Politburo condemns the brutal police firing which has led to the death of four people in Gwalior, Bhind and Morena in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh. In many other places, there have been attacks by police on protesters. One person has died in Alwar, Rajasthan. Such a situation has arisen because of the failure of the Modi government to present an effective case against the dilution of the Prevention of Atrocities Act,” said a CPI(M) statement.