Mystery death of Mandya girl: Police claim family killed her because she loved a Dalit boy – The news minut
http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/mystery-death-mandya-girl-police-claim-family-killed-her-because-she-loved-dalit-boy-41142
Dalit girl allegedly raped, murdered by physical trainer in college hostel – The Indian express
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/physical-trainer-arrested-for-raping-killing-dalit-college-girl-in-hostel/
ASI held for abetting Dhruv’s – Nyoooz
http://www.nyoooz.com/ahmedabad/415383/asi-held-for-abetting-dhruvs-suicide
Sigaranahalli violence: MLA calls for DC’s suspension – The hindu
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/sigaranahalli-violence-mla-calls-for-dcs-suspension/article8431635.ece
Beneficiaries unhappy with Dalit Basti Scheme – Tha hans india
http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Telangana/2016-04-04/Beneficiaries-unhappy-with-Dalit-Basti-Scheme/218737
Meet the Kanhaiya Kumar of Goa who’s got the authorities all nervous – Scroll. In
http://scroll.in/article/806036/meet-the-kanhaiya-kumar-of-goa-whos-got-the-authorities-all-nervous
Pervasive militarisation undermining democratic system, rights: HRCP – The nation news
http://nation.com.pk/national/03-Apr-2016/pervasive-militarisation-undermining-democratic-system-rights-hrcp
AP Govt committed to improve living conditions of SC, STs: Ravela – The hans india
http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Andhra-Pradesh/2016-04-04/AP-Govt-committed-to-improve-living-conditions-of-SC-STs-Ravela/218733
Stop crying for funds, we give you enough: Rajnath to states – The Indian express
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/stop-crying-for-funds-we-give-you-enough-rajnath-to-states/
Dalits Still a Deprived Lot: Niranjan – The new Indian express
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Dalits-Still-a-Deprived-Lot-Niranjan/2016/04/04/article3362241.ece
The news minut
Mystery death of Mandya girl: Police claim family killed her because she loved a Dalit boy
http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/mystery-death-mandya-girl-police-claim-family-killed-her-because-she-loved-dalit-boy-41142
A caste Hindu girl, who was in love with a Dalit boy, died under mysterious circumstances and was quickly cremated by her family in Timmana Hosur village of Mandya taluk on Sunday.
While the family claims it was it a suicide, the police suspect that it is case of caste-killing, reported The Times of India.
According to newspaper reports, police said that the family had physically tortured 18-year-oldd Monica, a PUC student, who had gone missing on March 31 and was returned to her residence with the help of the Mandya Rural police a day later. She was suspected to have been with a Dalit boy.
Her parents claim that she committed suicide on Saturday midnight.They shifted the body to the farmland for cremation, the police said.
The cremation was conducted at 4 am on Sunday morning. Reaching the cremation spot after the last rights were conducted, cops detained Monica’s parents, Mohan and Bhagya, in spite of relatives and villagers opposing the detention, reported The Hindu.
Villagers claimed that the family had to hurry with the cremation as there was a festival of the village deity was on and it was inauspicious to keep a dead body during that time. They also claimed that the girl had committed suicide.
“Neither Monica’s parents nor we committed any wrongdoing. She committed suicide on Saturday night and we took a unanimous decision to cremate the body as it was inauspicious for us to keep it while we were celebrating the village deity’s festival,” said a villager.
The Indian express
Dalit girl allegedly raped, murdered by physical trainer in college hostel
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/physical-trainer-arrested-for-raping-killing-dalit-college-girl-in-hostel/
A physical trainer and instructor was arrested for allegedly raping and killing a Dalit girl in the hostel of their college in Bikaner district.
The body of the 17-year-old girl was found in a water tank on Tuesday morning following which her parents lodged a complaint against trainer Vijendra Singh accusing him of raping and killing the girl, police said.
The accused was arrested on Wednesday and under police custody, the police said.
“It was alleged that the girl was raped in the hostel room of Vijendra on Monday night and later her body was found in the tank. She was pursuing BSTC (a course to become teacher) from the private college in Nokha,” the police said. The Dalit girl belonged to Barmer district. Local people, her relatives and public representatives including Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi have demanded a probe into the matter.
Nyoooz
ASI held for abetting Dhruv’s
http://www.nyoooz.com/ahmedabad/415383/asi-held-for-abetting-dhruvs-suicide
Summary: “We will produce him in court on Monday ,” added a crime branch official. Parmar had later committed suicide by hanging himself to death at his house at Ramanpura Chawl in Gomtipur last Saturday .At the news of Parmar’s suicide locals took to streets and resorted to heavy stone pelting. Samant sinh then made Parmar sit in the PCR van and went on to deliver the rest of e-memos, he added. Cops were initially reluctant to lodge an FIR, but yielded under public pressure.The probe was transferred to SOG, working under the city crime branch. “We added sections of atrocities because the boy was a dalit,” added a crime branch official.Crime branch sources said they had summoned all five policemen who were in the PCR van on that day.
Ahmedabad: The Special Operation Group (SOG) probing the suicide of 14-year old dalit boy Dhruv Par mar, arrested the in-charge of the involved PCR van, assistant sub inspector (ASI) Samantsinh Khant of Gomtipur police station, who had allegedly thrashed Parmar in public. Parmar had later committed suicide by hanging himself to death at his house at Ramanpura Chawl in Gomtipur last Saturday .At the news of Parmar’s suicide locals took to streets and resorted to heavy stone pelting. Cops were initially reluctant to lodge an FIR, but yielded under public pressure.The probe was transferred to SOG, working under the city crime branch.
“We added sections of atrocities because the boy was a dalit,” added a crime branch official.Crime branch sources said they had summoned all five policemen who were in the PCR van on that day. Locals said someone bulky and wearing spectacles had descended from the van and beat Parmar.According to crime branch sources they found that it was only Sasmantsinh who had beaten up the boy and hence he was arrested. “We will produce him in court on Monday ,” added a crime branch official.”We found that the PCR van had gone to the area to deliver some e-memos to the chawl, when a few locals complained that Parmar, 14, was talking to his friends and using foul language,” said a senior crime branch official.
The hindu
Sigaranahalli violence: MLA calls for DC’s suspension
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/sigaranahalli-violence-mla-calls-for-dcs-suspension/article8431635.ece
H.D. Revanna, Janata Dal (Secular) MLA, on Sunday demanded that the State government suspend Hassan Deputy Commissioner Umesh H. Kusugal and that a judicial probe be initiated into the violence that broke out at Sigaranahalli village in Holenarsipur taluk.
Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Revanna said the violence at Sigaranahalli, which falls in his Assembly constituency, was because of outsiders who visited the village on Friday.
The Superintendent of Police was also injured in the clash. Even a day after the violence broke out, the DC was not aware of the incident, the MLA claimed.
“When I met him at Sigaranahalli, I wanted to know why he had not come to the village though the SP was injured. The DC said he was not aware of the incident at all. He is unfit to be the DC. When such incidents were happening at Sigaranahalli, he was spending time watching dance in Hoysala Utsava,” Mr. Revanna said.
He also said contentious issues were raked up on the eve of the annual village festival, and called for a judicial probe into the matter.
However, when asked about the Dalit villagers demand to be allowed entry into the temple, the MLA was coy. He said, “When the same demand was placed before the district administration last year, a few Dalits were taken into the temple. Why is the same issue raised again?”
He also refused to respond to questions about upper caste villagers ‘cleaning’ the temple recently and opposing Dalits’ entry into the temple on Friday.
Tha hans india
Beneficiaries unhappy with Dalit Basti Scheme
http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Telangana/2016-04-04/Beneficiaries-unhappy-with-Dalit-Basti-Scheme/218737
Adilabad: Women beneficiaries of the Dalit Basti Scheme have threatened to return the barren lands given to them as they serve no purpose. The scheme is envisaged to empower women by allotting them 3 acres of land. Under the scheme, the State government provides irrigation facility to the allotted land besides giving working capital to women beneficiaries to raise crops.
The district administration bought 1,142 acres of land at a cost of Rs 45 crore and distributed it to 1,260 women beneficiaries. It was alleged that large scale irregularities took place in the purchase of land as it was barren and not fit for agriculture. No irrigation facility was provided to the distributed lands. The poor women beneficiaries were not given working capital as promised. The beneficiaries said the land ridden with rocks, mounds, trenches and bushes was not at all suitable for cultivation.
Even if a borewell was sunk in the land by incurring a huge expenditure, there was no guarantee that it yields water, they said.
Sobha, a beneficiary of Khapri village in Jainad mandal who raised soybean crop in the land given to her despite odds, incurred a loss of Rs 13,000 per acre as she did not get her investment back.
The beneficiaries of the Dalit Basti Scheme of Khapperla, Gomutri and other villages in Tamsi mandal also made the same complaints. Some beneficiaries of Edul Savargam village complained to District Collector M Jagan Mohan about the large scale violations in implementation of the scheme.
Speaking to The Hans India, Rajamma, a beneficiary, said: “The lands distributed under the Dalit Basti Scheme are totally barren. The land is not suitable even to grow wild grass. Despite several representations to the officials concerned, no steps have been taken to supply irrigation water to the lands. After distributing the land, the officials have ignored the implementation of other mandatory provisions of the scheme.’’
It was also alleged that the officials distributed the land to the poor beneficiaries at some places by saying that it would come under the purview of command area of some nearby irrigation project. When questioned about lack of irrigation facility after allotment, the officials threatened to take back the land from beneficiaries.
About 80 per cent of beneficiaries did not get any bank linkage as promised. The large scale anomalies in implementation of the Dalit Basti Scheme defeated its very purpose, said another beneficiary.
Scroll. In
Meet the Kanhaiya Kumar of Goa who’s got the authorities all nervous
http://scroll.in/article/806036/meet-the-kanhaiya-kumar-of-goa-whos-got-the-authorities-all-nervous
Lakhs of people come to Goa every year to holiday. They come to relax on the beaches, taste the fresh fish and enjoy a cold beer in the sun. And when the vacation is over, they return with photographs of Goa’s salubrious landscapes, unmindful of the fact that the beauty would have long disappeared had it not been for the struggles of the Goan people. It is these people’s courage and determination that has saved the land from destruction at the hands of corporations, especially those involved in mining.
This is the story of one such Goan.
Ravindra Velip is a 27-year-old tribal activist and panch of Caurem village who has been fighting doggedly against rapacious mining. He is a founding member of Rainbow Warriors, a registered society whose aims include protecting the “interests of the communities, individuals and associations involved in, or dependent on, agriculture and other natural/ecological economies within the State of Goa; and to ensure that the State provides them with economic and legal security, adequate assistance and their long denied recognition and respect”.
Velip’s activism has earned him the combined ire of the State and corporations, which are even willing to subvert constitutional principles if required. He was brutally assaulted on March 23 while in judicial custody in Sada sub-jail, and yet no first information report has been filed in the case. This grave lapse should have been emphasised by the media in Goa, but it appears a section of the press, with links to the mining industry, is party to the conspiracy of silence. I saw this hostility of the media first-hand at a recent press conference.
After the assault on Velip, a fact-finding team was set up consisting of me, Prof Amita Dhanda from NALSAR, a law university in Hyderabad, and John Fernandes from the London-based South Asia Solidarity Group. This week, Rainbow Warriors organised a press conference to release the fact-finding team’s report entitled Murderous Assault on Tribal Resistance in Goa.
Seven demands
The fact-finding team presented its findings and concluded by making the following demands:
An independent enquiry should be ordered into why the police failed to register an FIR in violation of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code.
A 12-point charter of demands of the United Tribal Association Alliance should be accepted.
Village panchayats must be given full powers to oversee the mining operations to ensure there are no illegalities in the process.
Justice demands that Ravindra Velip be given adequate compensation by the prison authorities for failure to protect him while he was in custody.
In consonance with the fundamental rights enshrined in the Indian Constitution, especially Article 14 read with Article 19(1)(c), which makes the right to form associations and co-operative society a fundamental right, the Caurem Co-operative society should not only be registered immediately but the government must offer all help to make it a success.
The State Commission for SC/ST could play a more pro-active role in ensuring the tribal peoples of Goa get social-economic and political justice.
Lastly, we would like to recommend to the mining companies that they follow the Ten Principles of United Nations Global Compact.
The day after the attack on Velip in judicial custody, anti-mining activists condemned the assault and demanded an inquiry. The chief minister, in response, said he would consider the demand after seeing the report of the “independent” enquiry instituted by the Inspector General of Prisons. The report was submitted but not made public, and the chief minister announced another magisterial enquiry.
Nobody, however, asked why an FIR had not been filed. The fact-finding team raised that question.
Yet several journalists were quick to ask whether members of the team had visited the jail, met the Inspector General or gone to the Goa Medical College Hospital where Velip went after getting bail. We pointed out that we were not a substitute for the police. It was the job of the police to investigate a crime and they were bound to register an FIR under section 154 (1) of the Criminal procedure Code. It was mandatory and it had to be done even before any investigation started.
Besides, the enquiry appointed by the Inspector General-Prisons did not talk either to Velip or the other four activists who had been locked in the same cell.
But a section of the media came up with all kind of theories – they even speculated on the integrity of the fact-finding committee. Why did the media object to our asking a simple question: why has an FIR not been registered in a case of such serious allegation although two enquiries have been instituted?
After all, the Supreme Court has held that “the provisions of Section 154(1) of the Code, read in the light of the statutory scheme, do not admit of conferring any discretion on the officer in-charge of the police station for embarking upon a preliminary inquiry prior to the registration of an FIR. It is settled position of law that if the provision is unambiguous and the legislative intent is clear, the court need not call into it any other rules of construction”.
Deprived of their lands
To understand why an FIR has not been filed in the case of Velip, it is important to understand why Velip was attacked.
Ravindra Velip comes from Caurem, a tribal village in Quepem Taluk of Goa. He belongs to the Velip community, which was recognised as a Scheduled Tribe under the Indian Constitution in 2002. The Velips were systematically deprived of their forests and land during the Portuguese rule, and the process continues in democratic India. Their lands are being usurped by non-tribals who pass them on to mining companies. The companies and non-tribal usurpers make fortunes while the tribals have become impoverished. Today, Caurem has five iron ore mining companies.
As Hartman De Souza points out in his book Eating Dust: In exporting 35% of the country’s ore mining has used 8% of the state’s richest land mass and returned just 4% to its exchequer.
Beginning 2009, the youth of Caurem village organised themselves into the Caurem Adivasi Bachao Samiti and fought against the mining and disastrous effects of mechanisation of extraction. The mining was being done in violation of the pollution laws. The villagers used the Right to Information Act and got information to prove their claims and then wrote to the authorities, but their appeals went unheeded.
Meanwhile, someone felt threatened enough by the Samiti’s activities to attack the president of the organisation, Nilesh Gaonkar. In May 2011, Gaonkar, a mechanical engineer, was going to Verna when he was hit with an iron rod on his shoulder. That time, a FIR was registered but the assailants were not found. The case was closed in 2014.
A few days after Gaonkar was attacked, the tribals of Goa, under the leadership of the United Tribal Associations Alliance, began an agitation to push 12 demands. One of the demands was reservations for tribals in the Legislative Assembly, entitling them to 12% of the seats.
The agitation signified a struggle between tribal peoples who were excluded from power and profits of development and those who had made money by depriving the tribal communities of their land and resources without any compensation. The tribals blocked the National Highway and the trains. There was heavy police presence.
On that day, two tribal leaders, Manguesh Gaonkar and Dilip Velip, were pushed into a burning building in full view of many non-tribals and the police. The two were burnt alive. The subsequent investigation resulted in acquittal of all those accused.
Seeking justice
Ravindra Velip, who had witnessed all these struggles and the violence on his people, decided to stand for panchayat elections. He was elected a panch, the youngest in his village. Under him, the panchayat tried to regulate the illegal mining and passed some resolutions.
But in retaliation, the Directorate of Mines and Geology in Goa passed an order (No 01/1001/Misc-Mines/2016/5031), stating that the panchayat had no power to regulate illegal mining.
Velip and his fellow villagers then decided to deal with the problem in a positive way. They decided it would be best that they ran the mines themselves to ensure that mining was done transparently with due regard to pollution laws and with a proper inventory of the iron ore. The villagers subsequently formed themselves into a co-operative. They were confident that they could run an iron ore mine because so many of the miners in the area had been thrown out of work. Also, they knew the business of transportation.
The co-operative was called Sadhana Multi-purpose Co-operative Society and Ravindra Velip went to have it registered. Indian citizens have a fundamental right to form associations or unions or co-operative societies under Article 19(1)(c) of the Constitution. However, the registrar of co-operatives refused to register the co-operative from 2014. The approval has not come till today.
To whom can the tribal peoples of Goa now turn to?
The Goa Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, whose remit includes recommending disciplinary action against public servants who fail to protect of the interests of SCs and STs, could have been one such body. But the Commission has not made any recognisable efforts to protect the rights of the tribal peoples of Caurem or their leaders.
Meanwhile, Ravindra Velip still fears for his life. The media, or at least a section of it, is hostile to him. It occurs to me that there are Dalits, adivasis and youth around India challenging the basis of authoritarian structures of our society and polity – in Goa it is Ravindra Velip, in Hyderabad it was Rohith Vemula, and in Delhi it was Kanhaiya Kumar. Their efforts are part of the movement to take forward India’s struggle for freedom. They are the Bhagat Singhs of our times.
The nation news
Pervasive militarisation undermining democratic system, rights: HRCP
http://nation.com.pk/national/03-Apr-2016/pervasive-militarisation-undermining-democratic-system-rights-hrcp
LAHORE: Ubiquitous militarisation of all sectors of civilian authority is damaging the democratic system and adversely affecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, which are being restricted in the name of security, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) stated on Sunday.
A statement issued at the conclusion of the HRCP Executive Council and annual general meetings on Sunday said: “HRCP must voice its grave concern over what can only be described as omnipresent militarisation of the country, over all sectors of civilian institutions and authorities, which is seriously undermining the democratic system.
It also has an undeniable negative impact on the rights of individuals and groups. At the risk of sounding repetitive, HRCP demands that civilian oversight of all military actions must be ensured without exception and progress should be shared with the people regularly.
“Freedom of speech and media, protest, movement and assembly are being violated and curbed on the pretext of ‘national security’ or ‘national interest’. Even expression of genuine apprehensions over development plans or commitments made by the government are being rubbished as being against ‘national interest’.
“In particular, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has acquired an aura of such official sanctity that any information sought on its details or airing reservations over its implementation are being denounced as acts of flagrant anti-nationalism. Smaller provinces and Gilgit Baltistan have voiced numerous reservations, including with regard to issues of CPEC’s impact and discriminatory application in various federating units of the country: these merit urgent consideration. HRCP also demands an immediate and thorough environment impact assessment of the CPEC project. The impact on the people being dislocated and the economic benefits to the local people should also be assessed
“In Balochistan, development of the Gwadar port has deprived thousands of fishermen of their livelihood and shelter. The local population is intimidated when they express their concern over the development policy in Gwadar.
“In the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the security forces are reported to have taken over private property of the locals with impunity. Reports of the use of excessive force in some villages are harrowing, where no house has been left standing and the population has had to escape the onslaught.
“It is of utmost importance that the security forces are not given a carte blanche and their operations have strict oversight to prevent excesses and ensure accountability. All incidents of death in custody, the so-called encounters and killings by the security forces should be investigated by oversight committees that must also comprise recognised representatives of civil society institutions.
“Important aspects of the counter-terrorism strategy devised after the APS attack in December 2014 have not been implemented. There has been no progress on activating NACTA and undertaking police, judicial and madrassa reforms. There has not been any meaningful review of the curriculum so far. Action against hate speech remains a largely pick-and-choose affair.
“All allegations of torture should be investigated by judicial forums and judges should inspect prisoners once they are presented before them, in order to ensure that they do not suffer torture at the hands of the security forces.
“HRCP has serious reservations over the manner of holding elections on reserved seats for minorities and women. The present scheme of representation is unfair to those selected and the electorate that they theoretically represent. Parliamentarians should amend the law to devise a formula for special seats that is both representative in character and based on the choice of the electorate, rather than that of the leaders of the political parties.
“HRCP demands that discrimination against those living in FATA should come to an end without further delay. The jurisdiction of superior courts should be extended to FATA and its citizens should be able to secure their fundamental rights.
“HRCP condemns growing overt and covert restrictions and attacks on the news media and hopes and expects that media organisations and journalists would protect their professional integrity and independence, and resist all attempts aimed at manipulating the media.
“In the name of student unions, violent right-wing elements have been unleashed on the educational institutions, where they have been allowed monopoly while others are not given freedom of association. The student unions must be revived and violence in campuses curbed.
“The work environment has grown progressively insecure for human rights defenders, not least because of demonisation of civil society organisations and on account of failure to take very obvious corrective measures by the authorities. Civil society organisations in Pakistan today manage to operate not because of authorities’ action, but despite it. Besides new requirements for registration process the CSOs routinely face harassment, and threats.
“The continuing plight of internally displaced persons in the country has been all but forgotten. No efforts have been made to adopt a proactive policy or a long-term strategy to address the challenges associated with internal displacement.
“HRCP slams the inability of the authorities, at times despite prior knowledge, to ensure that women are not prevented from voting in elections. Asking women who dare not vote because of various threats and fears to move superior courts is a contradiction of expectations. The state should not shirk its obligations and must ensure that such blatant discrimination is effectively confronted without waiting for petitioners to come forward.
Last but not the least, HRCP demands that the government make the required resources available to the National Commission of Human Rights to enable it to do its work effectively.
The hans india
AP Govt committed to improve living conditions of SC, STs: Ravela
http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Andhra-Pradesh/2016-04-04/AP-Govt-committed-to-improve-living-conditions-of-SC-STs-Ravela/218733
Vijayawada: Social Welfare Minister Ravela Kishore Babu said that the State Government was committed to welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and had made adequate allocations of Rs 1,000 crore to SC/ST welfare in the recent annual budget. Speaking to newsmen here on Sunday, Kishore Babu said that the State Government was trying sincerely to alleviate the living conditions of SCs and STs through the Sub-Plan. He also said efforts were being made to celebrate the birth anniversaries of Babu Jagjivan Ram (April 5), Mahatma Jyotirao Phule (April 11) and BR Ambedkar (April 14) in Vijayawada city on a massive scale.
He said a rally and meeting would be conducted at A-Convention Centre on April 11 to mark the 109th birth anniversary of Babu Jagjivan Ram. On the occasion, loans would be extended to SC, ST beneficiaries, he added. The Minister said that the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had directed the officials to celebrate the birth anniversary of Mahamata Jyotirao Phule as State festival. A decision was made to construct Ambedkar Smritivan (memorial centre), with 125-feet tall statue of the Father of Constitution, in Amaravati.
“As of now, 15 acres of land has been identified by the government on the banks of River Krishna for the purpose. This is to mark the 125 birth anniversary of Ambedkar and successful enforcement of 66 years of Indian Constitution,” he said. Listing out the welfare schemes implemented for the SC, STs,
Kishore Babu said about 130 students from backward classes were provided with financial aid to pursue education abroad under the Amebdkar Overseas Scheme.He also said a skill development would be established in the State to train 700 students from backward communities to help them in efforts to take various competitive exams, he added.
The Indian express
Stop crying for funds, we give you enough: Rajnath to states
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/lucknow/stop-crying-for-funds-we-give-you-enough-rajnath-to-states/
STATE GOVERNMENTS should stop making a hue and cry about lack of funds as the NDA government is giving more money than any other central government since Independence, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in Lucknow Sunday.
The minister also assured contractual employees demanding regularisation and better pay package of finding a “solution” to their problems since “there is no crunch of funds”.
“The funds the state has are like Kuber’s treasury and if a government is willing, it can always find ways to do so,” Singh said.
In fact, “the Narendra Modi government has increased the states’ share in central funds from 32 per cent to 42 per cent.”
“This is a hike of 10 per cent. Isliye paise ka rona dhona ab samapt hona chahiye (the hue and cry over money therefore should stop),” said Singh before a gathering of protesting unions of UP government’s contractual workers at Jhulelal Park in the city, where he was speaking as the chief guest at an ‘Adhikar Dilao’ rally. He asked BJP’s Mohanlalganj MP Kaushal Kishore, who shared the stage with him, to “discuss” the problems the employees face and find a “solution”. In his speech, Kishore accused Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav of not finding time to meet the thousands of employees who have been “surviving on bare minimum” and holding protests for months. “The previous government (of Mayawati) was even worse. It is just impossible to meet Mayawatiji. No one can meet her. But the BJP will fight with you (workers). We will give you your due when BJP will form the next government in the state,” he said. Urging his listeners to vote for BJP in the UP Assembly elections next year, Kishore said from May 20 onwards, he will hold yatras in every district of the state to “unite” the contractual employees, and finish his campaign with another rally in Lucknow. Kishore said the SP government has been “arbitrarily” demoting Dalit officers under the garb of implementing an order by the Supreme Court, which scrapped reservation in promotion. He said BSP, on the other hand, only wants to project itself as a party fighting for affected employees. He promised the employees that their “arbitrary demotions will stop” if the BJP is governing the state.
The new Indian express
Dalits Still a Deprived Lot: Niranjan
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Dalits-Still-a-Deprived-Lot-Niranjan/2016/04/04/article3362241.ece
KONARK:Two senior Congress leaders on Sunday came down heavily on the State Government over its non-performance, particularly its failure to ensure the rights of the Dalits.
The presence of the two leaders, former president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Niranjan Patnaik and senior party leader Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra, at a public meeting organised by the Dalit Mahasangh, has assumed significance.
Addressing the fourth annual function of Dalit Mahasangh as the chief guest, Niranjan criticised the State Government for its populist measures including rice at `1 per kg, distribution of free mobiles and chappals. “Now I don’t have any interest to make people understand, who will listen to us,” he said. He, however, said that social and economic status of Dalits have not changed in Odisha even after 68 years of Independence.
The campaign, launched by Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar to bring the Dalits to the mainstream, is yet to be achieved, he said.
Alleging that women have become unsafe during the 16-year rule of the BJD in the State, Mohapatra said sexual atrocities on girl students of residential schools have increased. He also criticised the State Government for its failure to provide employment to youths. Mohapatra called upon the Congress workers to stay united to defeat the BJD Government. Organisation president Subhas Kandi presided and secretary Pratap Kandy was also present.
Niranjan was taken in a procession by hundreds of Dalit women and Congress workers from Kundura Square to the bus stand where the meeting was held. The organisation felicitated 15 persons for their achievement in different spheres.
Niranjan and Mohapatra were also given a grand welcome at a function in Nimapara.
News monitored by AMRESH & AJEET
