SC/ST Act: Dalit party pens letter in blood to PM Modi, President

Members of the Bhartiya Dalit Panthers Party on Thursday wrote a letter in blood to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind against the alleged dilution of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by the Supreme Court.

The party members also paid tributes to those who lost their lives during the Bharat Bandh protests.

The apex court had, on March 20, introduced the provision of anticipatory bail in the act while directing that there would be no automatic arrest on any complaint filed under the law.

Following which, various Dalit groups called for a 'Bharat Bandh' to demand restoration of the Act to its original form.

Agitators halted railway traffic, forced shops to shut down and made their presence felt in at least 10 states including Punjab, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

As the day began, protests were peaceful, but they quickly turned violent, with clashes erupting between police and protestors in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere. Violent protests were reported in at least seven states.

Even as the Centre filed a review petition in the top court, the outrage over the ruling engulfed numerous parts of the country, claiming at least 11 lives.

In the latest development, the Supreme Court refused to put a stay order on its March 20 ruling, after the Centre filed a review petition against the same.