The National Commission for Schedule Castes has rejected the UP governments claim that the incidents of crime and atrocities on Dalits has decreased during the Bahujan Samaj Party regime. The state government had made this claim in response to the assertion by the Commissions chairman PL Punia that the atrocities on Dalits have increased in UP. My contention that the incidents o f atrocities on Dalits in UP have increased during the last three years was based on the figures of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB),which are furnished by the state government itself. To counter my contention,the UP government has furnished us the figures of atrocities on Dalits pertaining to first six months of the current financial year 2010-11. We have no mechanism to verify those figures and so they cannot be accepted, said Punia,also a Congress MP from Barabanki,who was in the state capital on Saturday. Reiterating his contention that the funds of the Special component Plan (SCP) meant exclusively for the welfare of the SC,are being diverted by the UP government for other purposes,Punia told The Sunday Express: The construction of four medical colleges in Jalaun,Kannauj,Azamgarh and Saharanpour has been financed from the funds of the SCP. UP government in support of its unauthorised act says that 70 per cent of the seats in four colleges will be reserved for SC students,but the Medical Council of India has refused to grant approval to all the four colleges. Claiming that the Commission was doing its duty and not indulging in politics in asking for the details of the physical and financial progress of each scheme for the welfare of SC from the UP government,Punia said the Commission has such information from all the state governments and all the Union ministries. In many states,the schemes for the uplift of Dalits exist only on records while the funds are spent elsewhere, said Punia. He said so far no date has been fixed for the meeting of the Commission with the UP government. The Commission had given 15 days time to UP government for furnishing all the information pertaining to all the schemes for the SC welfare being implemented in the state. The deadline is ending by the month-end, said Punia adding the state office of the Commission is preparing the agenda for the meeting. Punia had earlier sought preliminary meeting with the state government before Diwali. UP government citing panchyat elections and law and order issue had suggested to hold the meeting anytime after December 6.
