We expect SC/ST amendment bill 2018 to be passed in Rajya Sabha also: Mayawati

A bill to overturn a Supreme Court order concerning certain safeguards against arrest under the SC/ST law was unanimously passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday.

IMAGE COURTESY: ANI

New Delhi: A day after Lok Sabha unanimously passed The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill 2018; BSP Chief Mayawati gave credit to BSP supporters for conducting shutdown across the country and ‘pressurised the centre’. “We expect that the Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018, that has been passed in Lok Sabha, will also be passed in Rajya Sabha. Although the Bill was implemented late our party welcomes it” Mayawati said. “Our party gives credit of implementation of this Bill to ST/SC people of the country which includes BSP supporters too, who successfully conducted Bharat Bandh on April 2 and pressurised the Centre and BJP government to retain the earlier provisions of the Bill” she added. A bill to overturn a Supreme Court order concerning certain safeguards against arrest under the SC/ST law was unanimously passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday. What is SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Amendment Bill 2018? The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill 2018 rules out any provision for anticipatory bail for a person accused of atrocities against SC/STs, notwithstanding any court order. It also provides that no preliminary enquiry will be required for registering a criminal case and an arrest under this law would not be subject to any approval. The move to amend the Bill is being seen by the Opposition as a reach-out by the BJP-led NDA government to Dalits, ahead of their proposed nationwide protest later this month to demand restoration of the provisions of the law which, the Dalit groups allege, were diluted by a Supreme Court ruling of March 20. These groups have been asking the government to overturn a Supreme Court ruling of March 20, saying it had "diluted" and rendered "toothless" the law against atrocities faced by the weakest sections of the society by putting additional safeguards against arrest of the accused.