{"id":40977,"date":"2018-04-06T16:39:01","date_gmt":"2018-04-06T11:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/?p=40977"},"modified":"2018-04-06T16:47:48","modified_gmt":"2018-04-06T11:17:48","slug":"revolt-ambedkar-mahasabha-dalit-award-adityanath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apnlive.com\/politics\/revolt-ambedkar-mahasabha-dalit-award-adityanath\/","title":{"rendered":"Revolt in Ambedkar Mahasabha over Dalit award to Adityanath"},"content":{"rendered":"

Senior members of Ambedkar Mahasabha on Thursday, April 5, opposed the decision to confer the award on Adityanath, said media reports. The news comes on the heels of a Dalit MP Chhote Lal complaining to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the ill-treatment at the hands of Adityanath who, he alleged, scolded and threw him out when he went to the CM with his complaint.<\/p>\n

On Wednesay, the president of the Dalit body Lalji Prasad Nirmal had announced that this year, the ‘Dalit Mitra’ award will be presented to Adityanath on April 14 when the nation celebrates Dr BR Ambedkar\u2019s 127th birth anniversary.<\/p>\n

Virtual revolting against the move, the Mahasabha’s two founding members – Harish Chandra and SR Darapuri – called for an Annual General Meeting (AGM) to take disciplinary action against Nirmal, saying he had overstepped his brief by announcing an award for a CM during whose government several cases of Dalit atrocities were reported, said a Times of India (TOI) report.<\/p>\n

“There is immense anger among Dalits because of atrocities inflicted on them during Yogi’s rule. Constituting an award and giving it to Yogi will only rub salt into their wound,” Darapuri, a retired IPS, told TOI.<\/p>\n

He said there is anger among Dalits against whom cases have been lodged and even NSA has been slapped. Bhim Sena chief Chandrashekhar was arrested and booked under the National Security Act after Saharanpur caste violence in May 2017, he added.<\/p>\n

Retired IAS officer, Harish Chandra said the decision to constitute such an award was “arbitrary”, since it was not discussed with the founding members. “The Mahasabha was formed to spread the ideas and principles of BR Ambedkar, and not to serve personal interests of anyone,” said Chandra, in an apparent jibe at Nirmal, said the TOI report.<\/p>\n

“Our members have been seeking records from the Mahasabha, but its present administration hasn’t yet responded,” he said. Chandra said there were more than 100 members, many from government service, when the Ambedkar Mahasabha was formed in 1990. Both Chandra and Darapuri are lifetime members.<\/p>\n

Nirmal, however, said there was nothing wrong in conferring ‘Dalit Mitra’ award on Yogi. “CM Yogi is a friend of all citizens of the state. He is therefore a friend of Dalits also,” said Nirmal, who retired from the UP secretariat before becoming the Mahasabha president in 2013. He also dismissed allegations of having “personal interests”.<\/p>\n

“Rumours are being spread that I am seeking a berth in the UP Legislative Council. I am a committed member of the Mahasabha which runs on donations and with the blessings of Dalits,” the TOI quoted him as saying.<\/p>\n

The development comes at a time when there are reports of rising incidents of atrocities against Dalits. A report in IndiaSpend said the rate of crime against Dalits increased more than eight times (746%) over the decade to 2016. There were 2.4 crimes per 100,000 dalits in 2006, rising to 20.3 in 2016, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of 2016 National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB) data. The rate of crime against adivasis or scheduled tribes grew by over 12 times (1,160%) \u2013 from 0.5 in 2006 to 6.3 in 2016. Dalits, or schedule castes, comprise 16.6% (201 million) of India\u2019s population, up from 16.2% in 2001, according to Census 2011. Adivasis form 8.6% (104 million) of the country\u2019s population, up from 8.2% over a decade, reports IndiaSpend<\/p>\n

The BJP government at the Centre and other states have however claimed that it has brought many laws and policies that helped in uplifting the Dalits by promoting equality in the society.<\/p>\n

A Supreme Court ruling on March 20 over changes in certain provisions of the SC\/ST Act triggered violent protests by several Dalits groups across the nation leaving nine people dead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"