Rally to seek empowerment, Reservation Act for 'dalits'

New Delhi, Dec 3 (UNI) Seeking empowerment hundreds of dalits today participated in a rally at Ramlila Maidan here.

Accusing the UPA government of reneging on dalit empowerment, as per its Common Minimum Programme, speakers at the rally said regular atrocities on the weaker sections of the society were testimony to the 'ineffective character' of the present day rulers.

Udit Raj, Chairman, All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations, under whose aegis the rally was organised, said schemes like bringing the Resevation Act, reservation for dalits in private sector, filling of SC/ST vacant posts, which were part of the CMP, were yet to see the light of day.

Calling for accountablity of bureaucrats for not implementing or filling 'reserved seats' or backlog vacancies and demanding a suitable law in this regard in the Winter Session of Parliament, Dr Udit Raj said unless defined steps were taken the malady of socio-economic status of the weakers sections would further see a decline.

This, he added, while helping them come into the national mainstream would also help the country of the 'superpower' tag it was seeking through economic reforms which was benefitting only a select lot but failed to percolate down to the weaker sections of the society.

The organisors later submitted a 'magna carta for dalits' to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention in getting the due rights of the dalits.

UNI AN MQA BD1933