The Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan promised on Thursday that the misuse of the amended SC/ST Atrocities Act will not be allowed in his home state. The MP CM has assured people across the state that arrests under the SC/ST Atrocities Act will not be made without prior thorough investigation. This message by Shivraj Singh has provided the much needed relief to the millions of residents of the state. Shivraj Singh Chouhan also used his Twitter handle to dispel the doubts of his state’s residents over the confusion surrounding the amended SC/ST Atrocities Act. The MP CM’s message was that, “It will be ensured that injustice is not done to anyone.” It is noteworthy that the general and OBC category residents constitute 60% of the population of Madhya Pradesh which is soon going to hold assembly elections.
एमपी में नहीं होगा SC-ST ऐक्ट का दुरुपयोग, बिना जाँच के नहीं होगी गिरफ़्तारी।
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (मोदी का परिवार ) (@ChouhanShivraj) September 20, 2018
Voters of MP have favoured the Bharatiya Janata Party in the recent elections which is proved by the unbroken rule of BJP in the central Indian state since the last 14 years. All the three BJP CMs right from Uma Bharti to Babulal Gaur and Shivraj Singh Chouhan are from the politically powerful OBC groups of the state. These statements have come from Shivraj Singh at a very crucial time, the anti-SC/ST Act brigade were all set to showcase their strength in a massive rally to be held at Ujjain today. The CMs comments will provide relief to the sentiments of the majority population of the state and will also dilute the NOTA warriors who were trying to make a dent in the vote share of BJP. There have been widespread protests in MP by the upper caste and OBC population against the SC/ST Atrocities Act. The opposition in the state took this as an opportunity to hurt the image of BJP and to make them go on back foot in the state.
These statements came during the Jan Ashirwad Yatra which is currently being undertaken by Shivraj Singh in the state to connect with the voters of the state. The widespread protests against the SC/ST Atrocities Act could have taken a toll on the prospects of BJP in the state, the opposition had used the act to show that the BJP was anti-general and OBC population and had tried to convert them into NOTA warriors. Fear mongering by the opposition had made the general caste and OBC people believe that the Act which was amended by the BJP could be used to put undue pressure on the general category and the OBC population. Shivraj Singh through this message has made the job of the BJP in MP easier, and his message should unequivocally be replicated by the other BJP CMs of their respective states too. This will ensure the reinstatement of belief of the general category and OBC community people back in BJP and will take the power away from the crowd of the NOTA warriors who have crept out of nowhere. Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan are the three BJP ruled states which are soon going to face elections. These elections which are due in late 2018 will also have an impact on the upcoming Lok Sabha 2019 elections. BJP needs to win comfortably in all the three states to strengthen its position prior to 2019 and the MP CMs move is a great initiative in this direction.