Speaker: Shri Molhu Prasad, two minutes.
Molhu Prasad (Bansgaon): Only two minutes in two hours? Is discrimination happening even here?
Speaker: All right, speak, speak.
Molhu Prasad: Honourable Speaker, regarding the matter that was raised in the Parliament on the 28th, I want to tell you about a newspaper report that shows how the truth is covered up. Whether it is Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh or a southern state, the people whose problems we are discussing have neither a poet, nor a scholar, nor an artist, painter, journalist, writer or a newspaper of their own. This government is also not theirs.
This matter was raised in Parliament. The newspaper is ‘Swatantra Bharat’ — I don’t know if it is independent India or dependent India. It has reported that the Andhra Pradesh government has denied a report published in a Bangalore newspaper that Harijan women were forced to walk naked in a village of Mahabubnagar district. Two days ago, there was a heated debate in the Lok Sabha, and yesterday a government advertisement stated that the Andhra Pradesh government investigated the matter and found that no such incident had occurred in any village of Mahabubnagar district.
Honourable Speaker, if that Harijan stole two utensils and was burnt for it, will the home ministry give permission to burn the editor of that newspaper as well for covering up this truth?
The second thing is that for centuries in this country, they have neither had a pen nor a stick in their hands — the same pen whose signature decides how expenditures are made and decisions are taken in this country. So they have never had a pen or a stick in their hands to this today. Twenty years of democracy have passed, be it the Congress government or a non-Congress government, the home ministry of any state has never been in the hands of a Scheduled Caste person. The people of Scheduled Castes are set on fire, tormented, beaten up—give the home ministry to the Scheduled Castes and then see how they are burnt or tormented. But that is just not in your character.
Honourable Speaker, if that Harijan stole two utensils and was burnt for it, will the home ministry give permission to burn the editor of that newspaper as well for covering up this truth?
As far as the pen is concerned, not a single important post in the country is held by a member of the Scheduled Caste. Only the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission has one Scheduled Caste member at present. But the chairman of the Public Service Commission is also an upper caste person, who immediately resigned because an ‘untouchable’ had entered the commission. In this country, neither a governor nor an ambassador to a foreign country has ever been appointed from the Scheduled Caste. In the Parliament where we are debating, perhaps even the government cabinet does not have the full quota of Scheduled Castes. The Prime Minister is sitting here, if the quota is full, she should provide the details. Even today the quota is not complete.
And this is the lower house; in the upper house of Parliament and legislative councils, the Constitution doesn’t even have a provision for Scheduled Caste representation. When the Constitution was amended 22 times to resolve issues of India, can it not be amended even once to solve the problems of the Scheduled Castes? If you had the intention, the Constitution would have been amended, but you do not have that intention.
When an honourable member raised this issue the other day, it was said that the investigation into this matter would involve a Scheduled Caste member. But in the one year since I have been here, I have seen nothing but Patnayaks and Khalnayaks (villains). No matter how much corruption they do, no action is taken against them. But the personnel of Delhi police, which had 75 percent Scheduled Caste members, were immediately dismissed because they went on strike. However, there is no one willing to take action against the home ministry.
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As far as the issue of Uttar Pradesh is concerned, a person from the Scheduled Caste was murdered in my own area. In Majuri village, Barhalganj police station, Gorakhpur district, Uttar Pradesh, a Scheduled Caste employee named Babulal was murdered. But it was covered up, and no action is being taken, because while Scheduled Caste members are found in the legislature to complete their quota, you do not find people to fill the quota in the executive and judiciary. When a question is asked here, the reply from the home ministry is that the person is not competent or suitable. They are found suitable when it comes to forming the government, but they are not considered suitable enough for those roles.
Let me give you an example — in the central labour institution in Gorakhpur, three Scheduled Caste employees were recruited. There were 94 employees who were lower division clerks. But when retrenchment happened, those three Scheduled Caste employees were dismissed, while employees from the savarna castes were not dismissed in the same proportion.
Until they [Scheduled Castes} get the stick in their hands and the pen in their hands, they will continue to be burnt and killed like this.
Questions were raised three times regarding this, lekin shram mantralaya jo hai woh toh besharm mantralaya hai, the labour ministry is shameless and has not answered to date as to why those Scheduled Caste employees were dismissed and why employees from the upper castes were not dismissed in the same proportion. Until the kind of intent you possess doesn’t change for the better, there can be no solution to this problem in the country. Until they [Scheduled Castes} get the stick in their hands and the pen in their hands, they will continue to be burnt and killed like this.
Speaker: The honourable Prime Minister.
Molhu Prasad: A couple of minutes more.
Speaker: Will you please sit down now? You have taken not three but ten minutes. I have called the Prime Minister.
Molhu Prasad: Honourable Speaker, I want to tell you about the kind of evil deeds that happen. I want to give you some information about Uttar Pradesh.
Speaker: Order, order. It is not proper. Will he kindly sit down? I am on my legs. People who do this try to get more opportunity like this. It will be unfair to people who sit down like Shri Hiren Mukerjee and other Members who sit down correctly in time. This is not proper.
This is part of ThePrint’s Great Speeches series. It features speeches and debates that shaped modern India.