SC/ST Act Amendment Bill: Ramdas Athawale appeals to public to not participate in 'Bharat Bandh', says Opposition is defaming govt

New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday appealed to the public to not participate in the 9 August ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by Dalit organisations against the Supreme Court ruling on the SC/ST Act. [caption id=“attachment_4182833” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Union minister Ramdas Athawale. PTI[/caption] In a statement issued on Tuesday, Athawale appealed to the people to maintain peace, harmony and brotherhood in the country. His appeal comes a day after the Lok Sabha passed The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill 2018 to overturn a Supreme Court order concerning certain safeguards against arrest under the law. On Monday, The Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill 2017, which grants constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), was also passed by the Parliament. Athawale said the passage of the two bills was a revolutionary step and alleged that the opposition is defaming the government wrongly over this. He said the government is protecting the rights of the Dalit community and is continuously working towards their welfare under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Dalit groups under the banner of the All India Ambedkar Mahasabha (AIAM) have given a call for ‘Bharat Bandh’ on Thursday to demand restoration of the provisions of the SC/ST Act which, the Dalit groups allege, were diluted by a Supreme Court ruling of 20 March.