Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has come down heavily on the Centre on the issues of dilution of SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act and the proposed blacklisting of journalists if they carry “fake news”.
In a statement issued today he strongly condemned the attacks on Dalits during Bharat Bandh yesterday and urged the entire country should stand by Dalit who were economically, socially and politically suppressed for generations.
On Supreme Court’s guidelines on the SC/ST prevention of atrocities act, the Chief Minister said, “Dalits are feeling that the recent Supreme Court guidelines are weakening and diluting the laws and Acts meant for protection of Dalits”.
He urged the Prime Minister to talk to the Chief Justice of Supreme Court in this regard.
The CM urged the PM to place before the Supreme Court on how the guidelines issued by the Apex Court had punched holes in the SC/ST Atrocities prevention Act. “The Central government should take a sympathetic view on the on going agitation launched by the Dalits who are crestfallen with the SC guidelines”, KCR said.
Recalling that the successive Governments enacted laws to protect the rights and interests of the Dalits, KCR said, “the Govts have a bounden duty to ensure that the laws and Acts made for the Dalits should be implemented properly.”
“The Judiciary should take into account the feelings, agony and opinion of the Dalits. The governments, which are to ensure the implementation of these Acts, should also respond to the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court reflecting the larger Dalit sentiment”, he added.
In another statement KCR sharply criticized the proposal of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to cance, the accreditation of journalists accused of filing fake news items. He said that government had the responsibility to safeguard the freedom of the press without violating basic civil rights.
KCR said that the threat that the accreditation of journalists will be cancelled under the pretext of curbing fake news was sending disturbing signals to the thousands of journalists in the country. “There are already Acts and laws in vogue to deal with those writing fake news and baseless news”, he added.