Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Ram Vilas Paswan on Wednesday welcomed the Cabinet’s decision to give nod to a Bill restoring the original provisions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and said it was a slap for those who had called the NDA government anti-Dalit. The LJP chief told reporters in New Delhi that its Dalit Sena will not participate in the August 9 ‘Bharat Bandh’, called by various Dalit groups on the issue. Hailing the Cabinet’s decision as a clear message that the NDA government was concerned about protecting the rights of SC/ST, backwards and minorities, he said the LJP and Dalit Sena will now hold rallies across the country to welcome the government’s decision. He also warned that Opposite parties, including the SP and BSP, will be exposed for allegedly maintaining a silence on the issue. Paswan claimed that the LJP would tell people how the then Mayawati-led government in Uttar Pradesh had issued an order to conduct an inquiry before lodging an FIR under the SC/ST Act.“This decision is a slap on the faces of those who were calling NDA government anti-Dalit,” Paswan said.
