Activists want PM Modi to apologise for dyslexia remark
Shanmughasundarm j | TNN | Mar 5, 2019, 04:46 IST
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (AP)CHENNAI: Activists and organisations for the welfare of differently-abled people have demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise for his “distasteful” remark about people with dyslexia while taking a potshot at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The incident took place during a student interaction at the Smart India Hackathon 2019 organised by IIT Roorkee on Saturday. A student was explaining via video-conference her project to benefit dyslexic children when the PM asked if her programme could help a “40- to 50-year-old child”, hinting at Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
When the student said yes, he commented, “Then it will make the mothers of such children happy.”
While Congress party leaders slammed Modi on social media for the comment, activists for the rights of the differently-abled expressed anguish over the insensitive remark.
T M N Deepak Nathan, of the December 3 Movement, said he has mailed a complaint to Kharagpur police in West Bengal against the PM for the remark and requesting the station house officer to invoke action under Section 92 (a) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
According to the act, those who intentionally insult or intimidate, with intent to humiliate, a person with disability in any place within public view, shall be punishable with imprisonment of not less than six months, that may extend to five years, and with fine.
The state general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently-abled and Caregivers, S Namburajan, issued a statement condemning the “insensitive” remark on dyslexia and demanded an apology from the PM. “If Modi does not tender an apology, organisations for the differently-abled shall be forced to file complaints as per legal provisions,” he said and cited the 2016 act.
Activist Smitha Sadasivam, of Disability Rights Alliance, said the state (government) has a responsibility to ensure that the rights and dignity of people with disabilities are preserved. It was unfortunate to hear him, being a Prime Minister, be insensitive to people with disabilities, Sadasivam said. “The UN convention and the Indian disability law command respect to the inherent dignity of persons with disability. The PM does not seem to be sensitised about it,” she said.
The incident took place during a student interaction at the Smart India Hackathon 2019 organised by IIT Roorkee on Saturday. A student was explaining via video-conference her project to benefit dyslexic children when the PM asked if her programme could help a “40- to 50-year-old child”, hinting at Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
When the student said yes, he commented, “Then it will make the mothers of such children happy.”
While Congress party leaders slammed Modi on social media for the comment, activists for the rights of the differently-abled expressed anguish over the insensitive remark.
T M N Deepak Nathan, of the December 3 Movement, said he has mailed a complaint to Kharagpur police in West Bengal against the PM for the remark and requesting the station house officer to invoke action under Section 92 (a) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
According to the act, those who intentionally insult or intimidate, with intent to humiliate, a person with disability in any place within public view, shall be punishable with imprisonment of not less than six months, that may extend to five years, and with fine.
The state general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently-abled and Caregivers, S Namburajan, issued a statement condemning the “insensitive” remark on dyslexia and demanded an apology from the PM. “If Modi does not tender an apology, organisations for the differently-abled shall be forced to file complaints as per legal provisions,” he said and cited the 2016 act.
Activist Smitha Sadasivam, of Disability Rights Alliance, said the state (government) has a responsibility to ensure that the rights and dignity of people with disabilities are preserved. It was unfortunate to hear him, being a Prime Minister, be insensitive to people with disabilities, Sadasivam said. “The UN convention and the Indian disability law command respect to the inherent dignity of persons with disability. The PM does not seem to be sensitised about it,” she said.
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