Dalit rally to question ‘silence’ of SC/ST MPs over atrocities

New Delhi: Dalits, tribals and minorities from across the country who are slated to hold a rally here on November 27 during the winter session of the Parliament are set to put a poser before the MPs from SC and ST communities on the “silence” over atrocities against members of these communities.

The Mahasangram Rally, to be held at Ramlila Maidan, will be in some sense a culmination of the Dalit protest movement that was triggered by the suicide of Hyderabad University student Rohith Vemula and and later gained steam after the incident at Una in Gujarat where Dalit youths were beaten up by alleged cow vigilante groups.

Focussing on the 84 SC and 47 ST MPs, the activists will question their silence on these issues, said Ashok Bharti, who has been coordinating with various outfits to bring the rally to the doorstep of the Modi government. “We want to ask the SC and ST MPs why they have kept quiet about the atrocities meted out to Dalits in Una and elsewhere over the last one and a half years, question their accountability and whether they deserve to represent those reserved seats,” Bharti said.
He said the rally would not see any political leader on the dais as the idea is to avoid giving any political colour to it. Dalits and backwards need to have a re-look at the present form of representation and empowerment in society, Bharti said. For instance, a big fundamental question is whether these communities can keep faith in the judiciary, he said. “There is very little representation of SCs and STs in the judiciary,” he said.

Source: The Times of India