April 13, 2018: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the government will not allow dilution of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Mr Modi said, it is his government which has strengthened this act to prevent atrocities against Dalits and have identified 47 actions as crimes against dalits instead of 22 earlier.
He was speaking at a function in New Delhi after dedicating the Dr. Ambedkar National Memorial to the nation. He said, when this government amended this law, the provision for accused not be given anticipatory bail was kept intact and the amount that victims received have also been increased.
Mr Modi said, Special courts are being set up for urgent hearing of cases involving atrocities on SCs and STs. He said, the government has also set up a commission for sub-categorisation of backward castes so that they can get the benefits of reservations in jobs and education. The Prime Minister accused the Congress of spreading rumour about scrapping of reservations and weakening of the SCs and STs Act.
Talking about the recent heinous incident of alleged rape in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh and Kathua, the Prime Minister said, no guilty will be spared and justice will be done in the matter. He said, such incident in any part of the country cannot be the part of any civilised society and these are shameful for the country and the society. Mr Modi assured that the daughters will definitely get justice.
The Prime Minister said, many government came to power Many governments came to power after independence but what should have been done much before, has happened now, after decades. He said, this memorial is a tribute to Baba Saheb Ambedkar.
He said, Baba Saheb Ambedkar had always hoped that the governments in India would run according to the constitutional norms without any discrimination. Mr Modi said, the present NDA government has given importance to social justice and the right to equality to all in its every plan and project.
The government is working to end the imbalances which are existing from decades through its projects. The Prime Minister hit out at the Congress alleging that it used all its power to remove any mention of Baba Saheb from the country’s history and this is the bitter truth of history that when Baba Saheb was alive, Congress left no stone unturned to insult him.
He challenges the Congress to tell about any single work done by them for Baba Saheb as a mark of respect to him. The Prime Minister said the government is following the path shown by Baba Saheb and moving ahead with the mantra of Sabka Saath – Sabka Vikas to ensure that the benefits of development reach all section of the society.
Our correspondent reports that the memorial has been built at the place of Mahaparinirvana of Dr. Ambedkar. The foundation stone for the Memorial was laid by the Prime Minister in 2016.
The memorial is dedicated to the life and contributions of Dr. Ambedkar, the principal architect of the Constitution. The memorial of Babasaheb Ambedkar has been given the shape of a book.On the occasion, Union Ministers including Thaawarchand Gehlot, Dr Hrash Vardhan and Ram Vilas Paswan were also present. (AIR News)
