Paswan accuses oppn of fuelling misconceptions about SC/ST Act

Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan Friday accused the opposition of fuelling misconceptions about the SC/ST Act that triggered 'Bharat Bandh'.

The bandh was called by some upper caste-OBC groups to protest against the recent amendments to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by Parliament to overturn a Supreme Court judgment.

The Lok Janshakti Party chief questioned opposition leaders' "silence" on the shutdown.

He also scoffed at the Congress' promise of 10 per cent quota for upper castes if it came to power.

Paswan, an ally of the BJP, stressed on the need for removing misgivings about the Act which was diluted by a recent Supreme Court judgement, but restored in its original form by a bill passed later on in Parliament.

"There may have been organisations with local influence in the forefront of the Bharat Bandh. But something of this magnitude is not possible until some political forces fan the fire. We would like such political forces to come out in the open," Paswan told reporters.

Asked which political forces he was pointing at, the Union minister evaded a direct reply but said, "I would like to know where leaders like Congress president Rahul Gandhi and BSP supremo Mayawati stand on the issue."
The LJP chief said, "Altogether 47 offences are covered under the SC/ST Act. Some of these were brought under the law's ambit in 1989 itself, while the remaining were included in 2015, a year after Modi assumed power."
Paswan also said, "We are in favour of a judicial services commission with provision for reservation so that SC/ST and OBCs have adequate representation in the judiciary. It must be noticed that these social groups are still not sufficiently represented in most important offices."