PRESS RELEASE

April 16, 2018

Statement Issued by Shri PL Punia, Spokesperson AICC & In-Charge, Chhattisgarh

झठॐ बख़लकर, धख़खॊ दॕकर,मख़दॎ- षॊऻ कॎ जख़ीॎ नॕ दोलतख़ॠ-आोदशॊऺॎयख़ॠ कॎ कमर तख़ीॎ !

अनॏऺॐोित जॊोत -जनजॊोत अॊिॊर ोनशॊरण कॊनॐन कख़ कमिख़र कर और अब बदलॕ कॊनॐन कख़ लॊगॐ कर, भॊजपॊ नॕ ऺमॊज कॕ कमिख़र शगॵ कॎ पॎठ पर छॏरॊ भख़ॠकनॕ कॊ कॊम ोकयॊ ऻॖ ! Prime Minister, Shri has backstabbed the nation on his promise of not diluting the SCs and STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Even as Modi Government tried to wriggle out of the spot that it had put itself into by suggesting to get an ordinance to correct the Supreme Court judgement on the SC –SCT Act, the BJP Govt in Chhattisgarh has gone ahead and started the implementation of the diluted version of the Act and also promised disciplinary action against those who do not implement the diluted version of the SC-ST Act. This is a clear case of the BJP’s unabashed double-speak duplicity & deceit.

In a circular circulated by the Additional DG, CID of Chhattisgarh (Copy of the same attached as A1) the Chhattisgarh police has been directed to implement the diluted version of the SC-ST Act which busts the blatant lie of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi & his Law Minister, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad that there would not be any weakening of the SC-ST Act.

It is important to note that the on the eve of Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar’s Jayanti on April 13th, when PM Modi was accusing and badmouthing the Congress party, he had promised the nation that - “When the SC gave its judgment on the Act, we immediately filed a review petition. Very few know there was a six-day public holiday between the day of the judgment and filing of the review. I want to assure the country that the law, which was made stringent by us, will not be allowed to be affected (by the SC order).”

On April 2, when an unprecedented and extremely successful ‘Bharat Bandh’ was observed in the country, the Union Law Minister, said that “government will argue the matter with full authority in the apex court for the verdict's reconsidertion.”

Later on April 13, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad lied through his teeth and said “Centre was not even a party in the case”.

Following Facts would shed light on the BJP’s dubious, deliberate and deceitful design on the SC ST Act and expose its hypocrisy to the hilt:-

1. On November 20, 2017, the Supreme Court sent a notice to BJP ruled Maharashtra Government on the SC-ST Act, on the same day it sent a similar notice to the Modi Government asking their opinion. Modi Government’s utter duplicity, doublespeak and hypocrisy stands exposed as it had first agreed in the Supreme Court to dilute SC-ST Act and even recited figures in its support of their dubious argument. This was corroborated in the SC hearing on April 4. 2. 5 BJP Members of Parliament has expressed their unhappiness and have openly voiced their dissent by showing the ‘mirror of truth’ to PM, Shri Modi. Thereby, puncturing the tall claims of sheer tokenism that PM had leashed on to. Shri Udit Raj from Delhi, Km Savitri Bai Phule from , Shri Chhote Lal Kharwar from Robertsganj, Shri Ashok Kumar Dohre from Etawah, Shri from Nagina have written letters and expressed dismay and anguish on the absolute ill-treatment to the SC-ST community and have spoken the truth that “in past four years Modi government had done nothing for these sections”. 3. On April 13th, PM claimed the government had not touched the provision which denied interim bail to the accused. This is a ‘White Lie’ spoken by none other than the Prime Minister of the country. Paragraph 83 of the March 20 Supreme Court judgement clearly states that “There is no absolute bar against grant of anticipatory bail in cases under the Atrocities Act if no prima facie case is made out or where on judicial scrutiny the complaint is found to be prima facie mala fide…” Since the Modi Government was a party to the case (as per the observations of the Supreme Court on April 4), it is therefore evident that PM Modi was lying to the nation on the provisions of interim bail. 4. Under BJP’s watch, a Dalit suffers an atrocity every 12 Minutes. Every day, 6 Dalit women are raped.(NCRB) 5. is the first political party to legislate the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and raise its aggressive objections against its dilution by the Modi Government. 6. It was the Indian National Congress in consultation with other opposition parties submitted a memorandum to the Hon’ble President of on March 27th, 2018 and the President of India gave us an assurance to look into the entire issue.

BJP is now totally stands exposed on the SC-ST Act as it is now implementing the diluted Act in Chhattisgarh, despite PM Modi promising that his Govt will not allow any dilution. Scanned by CamScanner