New Delhi: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has sent a notice to IIT-Madras over the de-recognition by the premier technical institute of the Ambedkar Periyar Students Circle group, allegedly following a complaint that it was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
NCSC chairman P.L. Punia said the panel has sought a reply from the institute. “Youngsters must get freedom of speech on campuses. Extending bans is like suppressing their voices. This is completely wrong. I have issued a notice to the institute and sought its reply after taking note of the incident myself. We will take action in this regard,” Mr Punia said.
He accused the Centre of being “insensitive” towards the marginalised sections and claimed that the number of anti-dalit incidents had increased ever since the Modi government had come to power.
“Such incidents have increased. These are not minor incidents but serious ones,” said Mr Punia, who is also a Congress Rajya Sabha MP.
Referring to a clash earlier this month in Nagaur district in Rajasthan, in which four persons were killed and seven others injured, Mr Punia claimed that the local administration had not taken the issue seriously until he visited the spot. “The district magistrate (DM) concerned had not visited the spot. When I visited the spot three days after the incident, only then did the DM accompany me,” he said.
