Dalits, adivasis live in fear under NDA rule: Sushil Kumar Shinde

Bengaluru: Coming down heavily on the NDA government at the Centre led by PM Narendra Modi, Congress leaders Sushil Kumar Shinde and Mukul Wasnik said that Dalits and Adivasis were living in fear under the present dispensation.

Talking to reporters, former home minister Mr Shinde said that the recent dilution of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention and Atrocities) Act 1989 was an act of prejudice. It was the Congress party which noticed this first as it happened in Rajasthan and Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh and took on the issue head on.

"Under BJP rule, a Dalit suffers an atrocity every 12 minutes. The BJP’s CM candidate, B.S. Yeddyurappa found it below his dignity to have food at a Dalit’s house so he got the food from a hotel. Four Dalits were flogged, scholar Rohith Vemula was forced to commit suicide, these are some examples of how the BJP treats Dalits in the country," he said.

The Congress leaders further argued that the previous UPA government made vigorous attempts to implement the SC and ST sub-plan but the BJP government abolished the sub-plans. The two leaders contended that when the Congress was in power, it distributed Rs 882 crore as pre-metric scholarships to SCs which the current BJP led NDA government brought down to Rs 125 crore.