Black flags shown to Ram Vilas, Sushil Modi near Mokama

PATNA: Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Bihar’s deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi were shown black flags by the members of the scheduled caste community at the Chauharmal birth anniversary celebration function at Chauharmal Mela ground near Mokama in Patna district on Saturday to protest the dilution in the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Organizers present on the stage kept requesting the protesting crowd to remove their black flags and maintain silence. In a bid to pacify the protesters, Paswan assured them that he would take necessary steps to ensure legal protection of the members of SC/ST communities. Paswan also said there would be no alteration in the provisions of reservation for SCs/ STs.

Paswan also said soon after the Supreme Court’s order in this regard, he as the head of Lok Janshakti Party submitted a review petition. He also assured that the Union government would also submit a review petition in the apex court on Monday.

In its order dated March 20, the SC had diluted the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, in a bid to protect honest public servants discharging bona fide duties from being blackmailed with false cases under the Act. The court had said government servants should not be arrested without prior sanction and private citizens too should be arrested only after an inquiry under the law.

But, leader of opposition in Bihar assembly Tejaswi Prasad Yadav on Saturday questioned Paswan’s alleged “silence” on the issues. Tejashwi, in a tweet, said Paswan had been subdued into silence under PM Narendra Modi and RSS pressure.

Courtesy: TNN