Barely heard in uproar, govt brings in SC/ST amendment bill

MPs were demanding the sacking of the BJP-Akali Dal government in Punjab after the limbs of two Dalits were cut off, allegedly in the farmhouse of an Akali leader, and one of them succumbed to his injuries before he could be taken to a hospital.

It was only after one adjournment and almost an hour that it dawned first on CPM MP K N Balagopal and then on DMK’s Tiruchi Siva that as per the order in which the day’s business was listed, the Whistle Blowers Protection Act 2011 should have been taken up before the SC/ST Act. By then, however, the latter motion had been moved and deputy chairman P J Kurien said that since a point of order had not been moved at the appropriate time, the next legislative business the House would take up would have to be the SC/ST bill.

“You are agitated about atrocities against Dalits. I request you to discuss the (SC/ST) Bill, then all of you can raise your concerns,” Naqvi said. “We have condemned the Punjab incident in unequivocal terms and the state government has already instituted an inquiry into the incident in preparation for the strictest action possible. This is the place to legislate so let us make more stringent the law to punish whoever commits atrocities against Dalits.”

Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said, “I promise you that the Bill will be passed in this session. We are extremely serious about it, it is our bill. But it cannot be passed in the din.”

It was at this point, with extreme effort to make themselves heard over the ruckus being created by the MPs in the well, that Balagopal and Siva pointed out that the order of business had been violated. Kurien agreed but maintained there was nothing that could be done about it.