New Delhi: BJP’s Dalit firebrand MP from UP Savitri Bai Phule has urged her party to bring a new law so that the “lost rights of SC/STs can be secured” and has also urged the government to put reservation under the ninth schedule to counter the Opposition charge that the government was bent on ending quotas in education and government service.
“I have filed notices under rule 193 and even requested for a chance to speak in the zero hour. But I have never got a chance. The government should leave everything else and debate on atrocities being committed upon the SC, STs and Dalits,” said Phule.
The Bahraich MP said that if her voicing concern for bahujan issues results in her losing the BJP ticket, “she is okay with it”.
“I am a samaj sevi and I am not here to satiate my hunger for power. It should not be considered a crime to speak for the bahujans or SC-ST and if because of that my BJP ticket is cancelled, then I am okay with it. I will see what happens during 2019 elections,” said Phule.
Phule has laid down a total of 14 demands for the government. The demands range from introducing a SC/ ST roster in government services and reversing all demotions meted out to them to giving jobs to all the youth of SC/ST, failing which a compensation of Rs 10,000 must be paid per family.
Phule also urged the government to “withdraw all the false cases” lodged against the Dalit protesters, who carried out a massive demonstration against the Supreme Court’s ruling on the SC/ST Act.
The Supreme Court’s March 2018 verdict has been widely perceived as a dilution of the original provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
As the President appointed committee also readies to submit its report on the sub categorisation of OBCs, Phule has also called on the government to conduct a caste census in India in a democratic manner.
Phule also demanded that Justice (Retd) AK Goel “step down” from NGT chairmanship.
“The judge who has wronged the Bahujan members of this country should not be accorded any promotion,” said the BJP MP.