Gujarat govt has failed to protect SC, ST: Congress

The Opposition Congress on Monday came down heavily on the state government for failing to protect rights of SCs and STs.

During the meeting of State Level SC & ST Vigilance and Monitoring Committee meeting at Gandhinagar, which was presided over by chief minister Narendra Modi, the Opposition alleged that acquittal rate in atrocity cases in the state was 95%, the highest in the country.

“The conviction rate in atrocity cases in the state was a dismal 4.94% in 2010, which fell further to 4.54% in 2011. The number of atrocity complaints also rose from 1006 in 2010 to 1082 in 2011,” leader of Opposition, Shaktisinh Gohil, said during the meeting.

He also pointed out that appeals were filed in very few atrocity cases following acquittals.

The meeting was organised to review atrocity cases filed against SCs and STs, relief to victims, police protection to them, pending cases and special courts for such cases. The chief minister said that the government was committed to protecting rights of SCs and STs, and directed officials to ensure that there was no delay in dealing with such cases.

However, Gohil alleged that the government was not serious in the matter. He pointed out that the Committee was mandated to meet twice every year, but today’s meeting was the first one in over two years.