Oppn accuses govt of giving raw deal to Dalits

Opposition members on Friday accused the government of giving a raw deal to Dalits, saying the suicide by Rohith Vemula of Hyderabad University was a glaring example.

Participating in a discussion on Demand for Grants of the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry in Lok Sabha, they claimed that the ruling dispensation only paid lip service to BR Ambedkar and his ideals at a time when atrocities on Dalits were on the rise.

Initiating the discussion, Santokh Singh Chowdhury (Congress) said Prime Minister Narendra Modi might have launched the ‘Swacchata Abhiyan’ with much fanfare, but had ignored the plight of the scavengers. He claimed that lakhs of people worked as manual scavengers as the government had earmarked a mere Rs 10 crore to help them.

Dalit students are not getting scholarships for higher education as the scheme of post-matric scholarships is not properly implemented, Chowdhury said. 

He also lashed out at Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat.