Vol. XLII No. 23 June 10, 2018
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POA Act: Restore Status Quo Ante

CPI(M) Polit Bureau has issued the following statement on June 7.

THE CPI(M) opposes the announcement of the central government that it will not promulgate an ordinance to nullify the effect of the Supreme Court judgment that rendered the provisions of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities (POA) Act ineffective. This is even more objectionable in the context of the central government refusing any public commitment to introduce a Bill in the monsoon session of parliament to rectify the situation. This is a complete reversal of the position the central government had taken when it had given an assurance of restoring status quo ante.

Already, two and half months have elapsed after the SC judgment and, in this period, the existing law has failed to provide any relief to SC/ST communities who continue to suffer heinous atrocities. This further exposes the crass anti-dalit attitude of the NDA government.

The Polit Bureau demands that an ordinance be immediately promulgated so that the situation existing prior to the SC judgment is restored and the sense of insecurity of these communities about their constitutional rights is addressed.