THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After staying away from the hartal called by dalit outfits in state on Monday, CPM has decided to launch a parallel campaign against BJP led Central Government on the Atrocities Act by taking out a Raj Bhavan march on Tuesday. The Raj Bhavan march is also being organised to protest the killing of dalits during the nationwide bharat bandh April 2. The party units will also hold demonstrations in front of the central government offices.
CPM Rajya Sabha MP Soma Prasad said the dalit organisations had called for hartal on Monday unilaterally. "They didn't discuss the hartal with us or sought our support. We didn't oppose their hartal. Our party had taken a firm stand against the dilution of atrocities act," he added. CPM leader Anavoor Nagappan said hundreds of party workers will march to Raj Bhavan on Tuesday. The state assembly on Wednesday had unanimously passed a resolution urging the Centre to seek all legal means available to fight the verdict and also to initiate legislation to overcome its negative impact.
The resolution said that section 3 of the 1989 act viewed atrocities against backward sections seriously, and had laid down stringent punishment for violations. And if public servants fail in their duty towards the backward sections, section 4 of the act prescribes tough penal action. The SC order had created deep concern among the SC and ST population in the country. The state government's deep concern and strong disapproval of the SC order had been conveyed to Union Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot and Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram.
