Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge says govt delayed SC-ST bill on atrocities

The Congress on Monday accused the government of having brought the the bill to restore the stringent provisions of the Scheduled CastesScheduled Tribes law after a lot of delay and that it did so now fearing loss in electionsIt has taken a lot of time to bring the legislation forward I welcome the Bill and support it Leader of the party Mallikarjun Kharge said in the Lok Sabha while initiating a discussion on the Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Amendment Bill 2018 He said the Supreme Court judgment in March had diluted the original Act which dalits around the country understood as injusticeIn the March judgement the Supreme Court had struck down the provision that ensured automatic arrest of a person charged with atrocities under the SCST law and also made it clear that any arrest of a government servant should be cleared by the competent authority and a civilian by an officer of deputy superintendent of police Protests took place across the country People went to the jail and a lot of properties were damaged the Congress leader from Karnataka saidHe said the restoration of the provisions of the original law could have been done through an ordinance earlier The Bill was nullified by the Supreme Court in March this year And in the last four months six ordinances were brought by the government The government brought the ordinance to help the corporate companies first but did not bring the ordinance to stop injustice to over 24 per cent of the population of the country They could have brought the seventh ordinance also he saidThe government thought that if we dont bring this Bill now then we shall have to face its heat in the election he alleged Kharge said that even the dalit MPs of the National Democratic Alliance NDA had brought pressure on the government Why didnt you bring this Bill earlier The Congress protested against the SC order on March 27 2018 before the Gandhi statue in Parliament If the answers were given four months ago then this injustice to Dalits would not have happened he saidKharge said cases registered against the dalits who were part of the agitation on April 2 and 3 should be withdrawn and the protesters who were still in jail should be immediately released he said He also said that the SCST law must be included in the ninth schedule of the Constitution Kharge also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that though he spoke about Kabir Das from inside he believes in ManusmritiThe Prime Minister speaks about Kabir Das Dr BR Ambedkar He remembers Basavanna in Karnataka but inside you believe in Manu Kharge alleged Quoting Ambedkar Kharge said I want all people to be Indians first Indians last and nothing but Indians And it was Congress who supported Ambedkar and his cause Targeting right wing forces over attacks on dalits across the country he said amidst objections from BJP members On the one hand you want to unite Hindus but on the other hand you are illtreating the dalits A person cannot have moustache cannot ride a horse He will be flogged wont be allowed to use public wellYou wont understand till you were born in my caste he countered Pointing to the rise in the attacks against SC and ST people Kharge said according to the National Crime Record Bureau NCRB atrocities against Dalit are recorded every 15 minutes Eleven Dalits are killed every week and six Dalit women are sexually abused every day he said He also said that in the last four years there has been a rise of 3540 per cent in atrocities against Dalits Slamming Union Road Transport and Shipping Minister over his reported remarks where are jobs Kharge said No jobs As many as 24 lakh government jobs are lying vacantKharge was referring to the Gadkaris statement on Sunday that reservation will not guarantee employment as jobs are shrinking About 1010 lakh vacancies are there for elementary school teachers 45 lakh vacancies for police 24 lakh vacancies in railways 64000 vacancies in armed forces 65000 vacancies in para military forces etc If Gadkariji asks from where the government should bring employment then the government should fill the 24 lakh vacancies in the government jobs he saidAlso Read Bill To Amend SCST Act Will Be Tabled SoonCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever