Despite Dalit word being used freely in common parlance and academic field the Uttar Pradesh Government admitted that Dalit word is unconstitutional and is not a word used in Government language.
The admission came during the question hour when Government said that the Dalit word was not a constitutional word but also admitted that there was not attempt to ban this word.
Sukhdeb Rajbhar (BSP) in a question asked whether word Dalit is a constitutional word and what is the origin of this word.
Government said in its written reply that Dalit word originated during British Raj. “Before 1935 British officials used to use Dalit word for underprivileged people. This word is unconstitutional and is not used in the government working,” government said in its reply.
Interestingly, the word Dalit is used freely during the debate in state legislature. No one has ever raised a question over use of this word despite rules suggest that “only constitutional word should be used during debate in the House.”
Rajbhar had also asked whether government has any plan to an use of this word as Harijan. Government reply was in negative.
In another question government admitted that Samajwadi Party Government’s pet Samajwadi pension Yojana has been put on hold. Answering a question of Nitin Agarwal (SP) Government said that verification of beneficiaries is underway. To a question whether Government has plans to disband the scheme under which beneficiaries are paid Rs 500 per month, the reply said that decision will be taken after verification.