Singh in his media briefing said, "I respect Modiji but his statement calling Dalits as Mandbudhi is highly regrettable."
National Commission for Scheduled Caste (SC) chairman Buta Singh and other members of the panel who were on a two-day visit to Gujarat to review the status of the SC community in the state, criticised chief minister Narendra Modi for his allegedly calling Dalit community as 'Mandbudhi (mentally retarded). Singh in his media briefing said, "I respect Modiji but his statement calling Dalits as Mandbudhi is highly regrettable. Those who call Dalits as Mandbudhis are Mandbudhis themselves. Lord Rama ate the fruits offered by Shabri and our culture respects Shabri even though she belonged to the backward class.''
Singh said that after meeting MP/MLAs, representatives of various SC organisations, chief secretary, all the principal secretaries and DGP, he has got a very sad picture of the status of SCs in the state. He said that, "The status of the SC community is highly pitiful in the state. UP, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan are ahead of Gujarat, which stands fifth in atrocities against scheduled castes.''
"I have asked the state government to provide details regarding the various issues pertaining to the scheduled castes. The main issue is the ineffective implementation of atrocity law which has resulted in very low rate of conviction in the atrocity cases. The conviction rate in atrocity cases is very low in Gujarat with only 6% of the cases ending in conviction in 2009," he said.
He added that 1,106 atrocity cases were registered in 2003 while in 2009 the number was only marginally down at 1,082.
"In Gujarat, SCs account for 7.5 % of the total population and given this proportion, the number of atrocity cases is considered very high,'' he said.
Singh said that when it comes to recruitment, promotions, allocation of funds and implementation of various centrally sponsored schemes as well as special component plan, grave injustice is meted out to the scheduled caste by the government.
"Against the required 7% mandatory provision, Gujarat has allocated between 2 and 5.5% maximum during 2002-03 to 2009 which is against the law,'' he added.
Despite Gujarat high courts' clear order to use technology for underground gutters instead of manhole workers, 26 workers have died in Gujarat, he said, adding "Despite the national ban, manual scavenging in Gujarat is widely spared at places, including Mahatma Gandhi's birth place Porabandar and Ahmedabad.''
Gujarat's Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, Fakir Vaghela, gave a detailed presentation on special steps undertaken by the Gujarat government for the welfare of the scheduled castes.
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