New Delhi:  Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday appealed all the political parties to make it sure that there is no communal violence in the country. He made this appeal amid the ongoing violent protests by dalit organisations across the country. The Minister said that as per the demand the government has filed a review petition in the Apex Court against ‘dilution’ of the SC/ST Act.

He also dismissed all the allegations leveled as “baseless” that the NDA government was against the upliftment of the backward community.

“It is the moral responsibility of the political parties to ensure that no caste or communal violence takes place anywhere,” Mr Singh told reporters.

The Supreme Court in its verdict had on March 20 “diluted” the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, ruling that the government servants should not be arrested automatically without any prior sanction and private citizens also should not be arrested unless there was a proper inquiry under the law.

In opposition to the verdict, several Dalit organisations called for a country-wide ‘Bharat bandh’ on Monday.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi heavily criticized the RSS Organisation and the BJP party for the plight of Dalits, and said that he saluted the all the “brothers and sisters” from the community who have took to the streets to demand protection of their rights from the Modi government.

Speaking to news reporters outside parliament, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad noted, “The Centre was not a party in the proceedings at all. And therefore, on behalf of the Ministry of Social Justice, a very comprehensive review has been filed (against the dilution of the SC/ST Act).

“And the Government of India with great respect does not agree with the reasoning given by the Supreme Court in the matter,” he said.

Heavy violence was reported from the state of Madhya Pradesh with several people killed during clashes between protesters and police. The government of Madhya Pradesh called in the army personnel to contain the violent situation.

Apart from Madhya Pradesh there were tense moments in Punjab which has the biggest population of dalits in the country. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister called for peaceful demonstrations and to avoid violence.

If the outcome of the petition comes out to be negative, then there will be a major impact on the country’s political situation.

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