Bill to address Dalit fear Paswan relents, Mahasabha sticks to bandh call

Basant Kumar Mohanty, TT, Aug 02, 2018, New Delhi: The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved amendments to undo the dilution of the law meant to prevent atrocities on citizens belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.

The Narendra Modi government was under intense pressure from Dalit groups and its own allies after a Supreme Court judgment made provisions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act less stringent to avert its misuse.

The March 20 judgment had essentially barred immediate arrest of the accused and included a provision for anticipatory bail, fuelling a fear among Dalit groups that it would embolden their perse-cutors.

The cabinet has now decided to restore the original provisions (see chart). The bill is expected to be tabled during the ongoing session.

However, the decision failed to persuade the All India Ambedkar Mahasabha (AIAM), an umbrella organisation of a dozen Dalit groups, to call off its scheduled Bharat Bandh on August 9. The Mahasabha said several of its other demands are pending.

BJP ally and food minister Ram Vilas Paswan appeared satisfied. His party's proposal to join the agitation now stands cancelled, said Paswan who thanked the Prime Minister.

Paswan had also demanded that A.K. Goel, the then judge who was part of the bench that delivered the March 20 judgment, be removed as the chief of the National Green Tribunal.

On Wednesday, Paswan downplayed that demand. "Our main demand was the restoration of the SC/ST Act. All issued are closed now," Paswan said.

The Mahasabha, which has also opposed Goel's appointment, has raised the issue of cases against Dalit activists. More than a hundred activists had been arrested on various charges after their participation in a bandh on April 2 against the dilution of the act.

Mahasabha chairman Ashok Bharati told The Telegraph: "We appreciate the decision of the cabinet to restore the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to its original form. However, in order to take the Bharat Bandh call back, we want the government to remove the NSA (National Security Act) from the five Dalits arrested in Uttar Pradesh last year and withdrawal of false cases filed against the Dalits who took part in the April 2 Bharat Bandh."