Bharat bandh dalit protest death toll rises to 10; top 10 developments

Bharat Bandh: Dalit protest death toll rises to 10; top 10 developments

Bharat Bandh: Dalit protest death toll rises to 10; top 10 developments on Business Standard. In the wake of violent protests, 16 additional companies of the SSB, four companies of the RAF, two companies of the STF, and 3,000 trainee constables have been deployed across Madhya Pradesh today

Latest News The Bharat Bandh called by Dalit groups protesting the apparent dilution of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) Prevention of Atrocities Act by the Supreme Court recently left at least ten people dead and hundreds injured as incidents of violence were reported across several states on Monday. Protesters were reported to have blocked trains, clashed with police, and set fire to private and public properties, including police posts. At the moment, reports say schools will remain shut in Uttar Pradesh's (UP's) Agra, Hapur, and Ghaziabad over the bandh. Whether schools and colleges in other states and cities, too, will stay closed is not clear yet.

Meanwhile, the Narendra Modi-led government moved the Supreme Court seeking a recall of its judgment on the SC/ST Act. While the SC declined an urgent hearing on a writ petition filed by the All India Federation of SC/ST Organisations against the verdict, the Congress demanded that the Centre bring an amendment to the said law in Parliament or file a "curative petition" in the apex court.

The government will on Tuesday mention the review petition in the top court for an early hearing.

With the Bharat Bandh protest in Madhya Pradesh

(MP) claiming six lives, additional police and antiriot forces are being deployed across the state. The Dalit protests saw curfew being imposed at several places. The Union Home Ministry, for its part, rushed 800 anti-riot policemen to MP and UP, and asked all states to take preventive steps to maintain public order and ensure the safety of lives and property. Thousands of people were detained following widespread incidents of firing, vandalism, and arson across over 10 states, several of them being BJP-ruled.

The Bharat Bandh call was supported by nearly all Opposition parties, which, along with Dalit organisations and Dalit members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies, had criticised the SC order on the SC/ST Act and asked the Centre to file a review petition. While the BJP accused Opposition parties of politicising the issue and contributing to the violence, the Opposition alleged that in several places, particularly in Agra and Gwalior, it was BJP workers who attacked protesters.

The Congress, for its part, said that the Centre had taken the Bharat bandh call "lightly", which resulted in the violence.

The Supreme Court had on March 20 watered down certain provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, to protect 'honest' public servants discharging bona fide

duties from being blackmailed with false cases under the Act. The verdict is being widely criticised by Dalits and the Opposition who claim that the dilution of the Act will lead to more discrimination and crimes against the backward community.

Is the Bharat Bandh protest over? For now, it seems to be. However, while the country takes stock of the violence seen on Monday, the government's woes over the matter might not be over. Dalit organisations have planned a huge public meeting in September if the Centre does not meet their demands by then.

Here are the top 10 developments in the Bharat Bandh Dalit protests over The Supreme Court's SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act verdict:

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