LJP files review plea against SC order on atrocities Act

The Lok Janshakti Party, an ally of the BJP, has filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against its order on the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, party leader Chirag Paswan said today.

The LJP, which draws its electoral base from Dalits in Bihar, has also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him that the government should file a review petition against the order which has made the act "toothless".

"We are worried as the order has weakened the law which has been the main protector of Dalits. It is necessary to ensure that it remains strong. We have also demanded that the government should go to the apex court at the earliest seeking a review of its order," he said.

Paswan, who is chairperson of his party's parliamentary board, said the LJP has been receiving a number of memorandums from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes against the court's order.

The court had expressed concern over the misuse of the act and said that government servants should not be arrested without prior sanction and private citizens too could be arrested only after an inquiry.

LJP's secretary general Abdul Khaliq said the apex court's verdict had made the law "toothless" and his party wanted that the government should file a review against it.

It had also written to the prime minister, he said.

Dalit MPs of the BJP have also spoken against the order and voiced support in the favour of filing a review petition.