Bhopal: Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar on Tuesday strongly reacted to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) findings on atrocities against Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in Madhya Pradesh. In an early morning statement, Singhar said, “Madhya Pradesh once again shamefully ranks among the top states in the country for atrocities against the SC and ST communities. The state ranks number one in the country for atrocities against the tribal community.”
Pending Cases Under SC/ST Act
Quoting statistics from the NCRB report, the Leader of Opposition highlighted that as many as 5,423 cases under the SC/ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act are pending in the state. He provided a district-wise breakdown, noting that Jabalpur has the highest number of pending cases at 909, followed by Sagar with 842, Rewa with 417, Chhatarpur with 390, Gwalior with 383, and Guna with 303.
Political Allegations
Singhar argued that SC and ST communities are struggling for justice, but their plight is nowhere in the list of priorities of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. “The most worrying thing is that districts with the highest number of tribal and vulnerable communities have the highest number of pending cases of atrocities. When will the victims finally get justice?” the LOP asked.
He further accused the BJP government of hypocrisy, stating, “The BJP government pretends to be pro-tribal in speeches, but the ground reality is that atrocities are increasing and justice is buried in files.”
Context and Reactions
The NCRB data has sparked a political row in the state, with the opposition demanding immediate action to address the backlog of cases and ensure speedy justice for victims. The state government is yet to respond to the allegations made by Singhar.
