Modi asks BJP MPs to observe social justice fortnight from August 15

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked BJP MPs to observe 'social justice fortnight' from August 15 to 31 in their respective constituencies.

"The Prime Minister has decided that we will celebrate Samajaik Nyay Pakhwada from August 15 to 31. We will go to every part of the country and make people aware of the decisions we made for social justice," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters after the meeting.

He said from next year, the BJP will celebrate Social Justice Week between August 1-9 every year.

The PM's remarks came at the BJP parliamentary party meeting, the last of this monsoon session. The Prime Minister said the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament would be marked as a social justice session in history.

Parliament on Monday accorded constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes.

The Lok Sabha also on Monday passed the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill.

The Prime Minister termed these measures historic.

Kumar said Modi also recalled his speech after the BJP's victory in the 2014 polls in which he had said his government would be dedicated to the poor, villages and backward sections of society. "These Bills underline this commitment," he said.

The BJP Parliamentary Party also passed a resolution lauding the government over the passage of the Bills.

It was for the second time that the BJP Parliamentary Party felicitated Modi. In the last meeting, he was felicitated for defeating the no-confidence motion.

MPs from Poorvanchal area of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh also felicitated the Prime Minister for developing BHU with AIIMS-like facilities.

The Rajya Sabha on Monday unanimously passed the Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill as passed by the Lok Sabha to give a constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes.

Earlier, the Upper House had made some amendments to the Bill passed by the Lok Sabha and sent it back to the Lower House of Parliament. The Lok Sabha, in a rare gesture, adopted and passed the Bill.

The bill seeks to grant NCBC constitutional status at par with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.

The Lok Sabha had on Monday passed the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018, which seeks to overturn a Supreme Court order that struck down the provision for immediate arrest.

The Bill is likely to be passed in the Upper House this week.

--IANS

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