New Delhi: The Congress party has constituted an SC/ST Parliamentary Forum, with 32 MPs participating in its inaugural meeting to deliberate on a range of issues concerning Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Speaking after the meeting, Congress SC Department Chairman Rajendra Pal said incidents of caste-based discrimination, including alleged “purification rituals”, have continued to emerge over the years.
Referring to the recent controversy in Haldwani, Rajendra Pal alleged that RSS-BJP workers carried out a purification ritual at the stage where Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had delivered his speech.
He termed the incident a “well-planned conspiracy”, alleging that the RSS-BJP’s ideology is inherently “anti-Dalit” and aimed at imposing Manuvad in the country.
Rajendra Pal said the newly formed Parliamentary Forum would provide a platform for SC/ST MPs to raise issues affecting their communities and coordinate their parliamentary interventions.
He further announced that the Congress would establish a dedicated Secretariat to support the Forum and strengthen its functioning in the coming days.
Kodikunnil Suresh Congress MP Lok Sabha said that today, we had a very important meeting. We have decided to take up the issues concerning Dalits and Adivasis, both inside and outside Parliament. Ever since the BJP government came to power, the SC and ST communities have been completely neglected. Atrocities are rampant, while funds allocated for the welfare of SCs and STs are being cut. The NDA government has adopted a stepmotherly attitude towards SCs and STs.
He said that is why we are taking SC-ST issues very seriously under the leadership of Shri Mallikarjun Kharge and LoP Shri Rahul Gandhi. If the Uttarakhand government fails to register a case against those responsible for the purification incident in Haldwani, we will take to the streets to fight against the RSS and other communal forces.