NEW DELHI: Some of the leaders of the SC/ST MPs forum met the Vice-President Dr.S.DSharma and sought his “blessings” for the success of their campaign for raising the social economic and political status of the SC/STs.
The forum leaders say that they have been blessed and as proof they promise to carry Dr. Sharmas message in the souvenir being brought out on the occasion of the two-day national convention of the SC/ST legislators beginning June 15.
How could the Vice-President Say no to anything the forum leaders asked for? As an aspirant for the presidential nomination certainly he was keen not to repeat the mistake of the present incumbent of Rashtrapati Bhavan who had declined to meet a delegation of the SC/ST MPs presumably because of its large size.
Unlike his superior the savant Vice-President would not like to live under the threats of his door being smashed. Coming from no less a person than a former prime minister the threat has to be taken seriously (If the door of Rashtrapati Bhavan is closed to the Dalit’s then break it open” said V.P.Singh at a recent rally in Delhi)
So take his death-sentence Dr.Sharma will sign it without batting an eyelid but he is not alone in deciding not to bear a heavy cross for the rest of his life. When Butta Singh and his fellow campaigners met Prime Minister P.V.Narsimha Rao he too agreed to every word actually uttered by his visitors He said that he was for a national consensus on issues concerning the SC/STs and called for obliterating party-lines while dealing with such matters. He praised the forum members for moving in the right direction.
That the forum is held in awe is amply clear. And the reason is not hard to see. With its membership open to all the 119 SC/ST members of Parliament the forum leaders claim that about 80 are regularly participating in its activity cutting across party-lines. No leader in his right senses can afford to incur the wrath of the forum. Enjoying their new-found importance the forum leaders too are determined to make the two day convention a real big show. Already eight sub-committees have been formed each comprising about half-a-dozen MPs to look after different aspects of the convention.
But should the Rashtrapati Bhavan come under the purview of anew quota system? Here Buta Singh and Ramvilas Paswan burst into an impassioned protest. By trying to send someone from the margins of society to the magnificent Rashtrapati Bhavan they are actually giving shape to the Mahatmas long-lost dream they say. There cannot be any further argument.
But some once is saying something different. A Dalit for the Rashtrapati Bhavan is as revolutionary a proposition as a black for the White House says Meera Kumar Jagjivan Rams daughter and Congress leader. “It is a revolutionary step which should take society forward and therefore the initiative must come from all sections. It should not be made a facade.” She deplores the way “emotions are being whipped up” on this issue.
But the forum men have moved far ahead they have already talked to most of the chief ministers seeking their endorsement of the move.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 19, 1992
