VCK hopes to convince DMK govt. to enact law against caste hatred crimes
VCK sources said the party had been working diligently behind the scenes to convince the DMK leadership to enact a special legislation. At the same time, a section felt the State government was lenient in implementing laws to protect the Scheduled Castes, and wondered why the DMK didn't think of the community as a 'vote bank' like the OBCs.
VCK general secretary D. Ravikumar told The Hindu that while the DMK government had introduced significant development schemes that benefit the Scheduled Caste communities directly and indirectly, it cannot ignore the constitutional duty of protecting them.
'The government has ensured development of Scheduled Castes in terms of their education and encouraging entrepreneurship. It has created infrastructure, introduced scholarships for Dalits, and these schemes will have a long-lasting impact. It has also introduced entrepreneurship schemes such as Dr. Annal Ambedkar Business Champions Scheme, besides reserving government contracts for SCs. Even reserved Panchayats have their own special schemes for development. Other welfare schemes – Magalir Urimai Thogai, free bus travel, Pudhumai Penn – overwhelmingly benefit Scheduled Castes and Most Backward Classes,' he said.
However, he felt development without ensuring equality was pointless.
Mr. Ravikumar said the continuation of atrocities and caste killings will stop the development initiatives of the State government. 'Economic or educational development may be a choice of the government, but the State government is bound to ensure equality constitutionally,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
2 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Won't allow importing of voters: DMK
CHENNAI/VELLORE/PUDUKKOTTAI: Leaders of a few political parties have reacted preemptively and strongly to queries from the media, television channels in particulars, about rumours that around seven lakh migrant workers from Bihar in Tamil Nadu could get added to the state's electoral roll. However, sources from the Chief Electoral Officer and Labour Department that maintains data on migrant workers said neither the numbers nor the rumours about inclusion en masse had any official basis. To a question on this from media in Pudukkottai on Saturday, former law minister S Regupathy said 'importing of voters' from other states will not be acceptable and the DMK will raise the issue appropriately with the Election Commission of India if such a situation arises. Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan also responded on similar lines to a question from the media in Vellore on Saturday. Alleging that manipulations were being done in Bihar in the electoral rolls by the BJP, he said such moves in other states should be carefully opposed. 'We will become roaring lions to oppose it,' he said, if such attempts were made in Tamil Nadu. VCK president and Chidambaram MP Thol Thirumavalavan also said his party would strongly oppose any such moves. NTK chief coordinator Seeman, in a post on X, said that the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, if done in Tamil Nadu, could result in migrant workers from north Indian states exerting a huge influence on TN politics, thereby eroding the power of Tamil people.
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Delhi govt to table bill to regulate private school fee hikes in monsoon session
The Delhi government will introduce a bill to regulate fee hikes by private schools in the upcoming Monsoon Session, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Saturday. According to the Cabinet-approved ordinance, passed on April 29, the bill imposes strict penalties on schools that hike fees arbitrarily. For a first offence, schools will face fines ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, with repeat violations attracting penalties between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. If the school fails to refund within the specified time, the fine doubles after 20 days, triples after 40 days, and continues to increase with every 20-day delay. Repeated violations may lead to a ban on holding official positions in the school management and loss of the right to propose future fee revisions. Addressing the media, Gupta said, 'Delhi govt will table the education bill to regulate fee hike by private schools, in the Monsoon session of Assembly beginning from August 4.' Highlighting other policy steps, she announced that the Delhi Legislative Assembly will now operate as a paperless e-Vidhan Sabha. 'It is a matter of happiness that the Delhi Legislative Assembly will now be paperless. We have also developed the assembly as a model Legislative Assembly, as it is completely dependent on solar power now,' she said. The chief minister added that efforts are also underway to make the Delhi Secretariat paperless, as part of the government's broader digital and sustainable governance agenda. 'We are taking policy decisions to make Delhi developed,' she said. The Monsoon Session will be the third session of the Delhi Assembly under the Rekha Gupta-led government.
New Indian Express
2 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Siddaramaiah calls himself champion of Dalits, BCs
BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is going from strength to strength, and seems to be cementing his position to continue as CM for the full five years of the Congress government's term. In a reflection of his rising stature, on Saturday, he shared the dais with Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi at the AICC Legal Department's 'Constitutional Challenges: Perspectives and Pathways' conclave held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. In his speech, he called himself a leader of both Dalits and backward classes, claiming to have protected their interests by ensuring social justice. He said the Scheduled Caste survey his government conducted by appointing the Justice HN Nagamohan Das commission is to provide internal reservation. He also claimed to have implemented 32% reservation to backward classes, going beyond the Mandal commission report. 'My government has ordered a survey to identify communities that are still socially and educationally backward and provide them with reservation to achieve real equality. We have also commenced a survey of various Scheduled Castes to provide internal reservation proportional to their population. Through these affirmative actions as envisaged in our Constitution, I am sure we are on the right path to achieving social justice, real equality and fraternity,' he said. 'Karnataka is the pioneer in apportioning funds exclusively to the SC/STs, proportionate to their population through the SCP/TSP Act,' he stressed. On the legacy of Dr BR Ambedkar's Constitution, he said, 'Finest prime minister of this nation Jawaharlal Nehru put India on the path of social justice. Leaders like Indira Gandhi used affirmative action to uplift the backward classes and marginalised sections through reforms, such as the 20-point programme and nationalisation, while Rajiv Gandhi ensured reservation for backward classes at the panchayat level through the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments,' he recalled.
