MANGALURU: Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment Ramdas
Athawale said the attacks on Dalits across the country should be seen more as social rather than a political issue. Asserting that attacks on Dalit was caste related and have nothing to do with the BJP-led
NDA government being in power, he said that it will happen irrespective of which government was in power and one way to address this is to encourage inter-caste marriages.
Addressing reporters on Saturday, Athawale said his ministry actively supports inter-caste marriages. While SC bride gets Rs 3 lakh, SC groom gets Rs 2 lakh, he said adding nearly 50,000 to 60,000 such marriages take place across India. The issue can also be addressed by providing reservation in education and jobs to the economically backward sections of forward castes such as Marathas, Patidars and the Kapus subjecting them to creamy layer income category, he said.
Averring that such reservation can help reduce social tensions among the economically backward, forward castes and the other backward classes and SC/STs, Athawale said most of the caste clashes including the recent Bhima-Koregaon incident in Maharashtra is due to this social frustration among the forward classes. "I have urged PM to amend the Constitution to provide reservation even for such forward sections of society at the NDA coordination committee," Athawale said.
On his colleague
Anant Kumar Hegde's reported stance on need to change the Indian Constitution, Athawale said this is done and dusted issue for Hegde has already clarified on it in the Parliament. Even PM
Modi has sworn by the Constitution, he said adding one cannot change the Preamble or its structure. With more than 120 amendments, the Parliament can always change the law that needs to be in sync with present-day reality as mandated by its founder B R Ambedkar.
