Over 200 protesters marched from Veer Kotwal Garden to Chaityabhoomi in Dadar to express their displeasure over the March 20 Supreme Court ruling banning automatic arrest and registration of cases for alleged harassment of members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Shailendra Kamble, All India vice-president of Dalit Shoshan Mukti Manch, said, “The ruling has driven holes into the Act. We want to know why the government waited so long to take any kind of action. It was only after a Bharat Bandh was declared, did they spring into action.”
Subodh More of Jati Anta Sangharsh Samiti said, “If the government wants they can pass an ordinance. They normally pass ordinances for far less pressing issues when it suits them. So why not now?” Mr. Mores said under the Act, there needs to be special courts and nodal officers in Maharashtra to look into cases of atrocities against SCs and STs.
The protesters belonged to various Left parties, trade unions, and Dalit and Adivasi organisations. Sopan Sutar of Sarva Har Jana Andolan, who travelled to Mumbai from Raigad with 25 fellow protesters, said, “We feel this Act will only lead to an increase in atrocities against Dalits. Therefore, important steps need to be taken.” J.V. Pawar, spokesperson, Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh, said, “How many more people need to die before this government wakes up.” At least seven people were killed and hundreds hurt in violence across the country on Monday.
