Modi govt wants to abolish SC/ST reservations: Cong leader
Nagpur: Congress national spokesperson Anshul Avijit on Saturday said the BJP and the Sangh Parivar were "anti-Dalit" and were working to remove reservations for SC/STs in government jobs.
Addressing a press conference here, he said the BJP government at the Centre had hatched a "sinister conspiracy" to remove reservations.
"The testimony of this sinister attempt is the plea of BJP government in Uttarakhand in the Supreme Court that there was no fundamental right of reservation in government jobs for SC/STs," he said.
In a judgement on February 7, the SC held that states are not bound to provide reservation in appointments and there is no fundamental right to claim quota in promotions.
The apex court said this while dealing with pleas regarding Uttarakhand government's September 5, 2012 decision to fill up all posts in public services in the state without providing reservations to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
"Instead of apologising to the nation for this conspiracy and correcting the historical wrong being done to SC/STs, the Narendra Modi government is misleading the country by making false accusations," he alleged.
He said the RSS had, in the past, demanded a review of the quota system in the country.
Citing statistics, he said the number of atrocities on Dalits as per NCRB data was 43,203 for the year 2017, adding that the Congress under Rahul Gandhi would fight to ensure Dalits and other deprived classes get their due.
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Kerala: Court imposes 41-year jail term on man for sexual assault of minor
Kozhikode (Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 41 years in prison for sexually assaulting a minor boy near Valayam in 2021.
Nadapuram Fast Track Special Court judge K Naushad Ali sentenced 64-year-old Panchara Musa, also known as Ganapathiyat Musa, under various provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), according to special public prosecutor Manoj Aroor.
As the sentences are to run concurrently, the convict will have to serve the highest term of 20 years’ imprisonment, SPP Aroor said. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 52,000 on Musa.
The incident took place in August 2021 when the accused allegedly took the 14-year-old boy to a bus stop in Valayam town and sexually assaulted him, the prosecutor said. The accused also gave Rs 50 to the boy, he added.
Following the incident, the boy and his father lodged a complaint at the Valayam police station.
A case under various provisions of the POCSO Act and the IPC was registered, and the accused was subsequently arrested, the SPP said.
The prosecution examined 16 witnesses and submitted 16 documents to substantiate its case against the accused, he added.
