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New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday alleged a 35 per cent increase in incidents of harassment against SC and ST communities between 2018-2022, and demanded early redressal of such grievances.

Addressing a press conference, AICC’s Scheduled Caste (SC) department chairman Rajendra Pal Gautam said such strict punishments should be granted in complaints of harassment against SCs and Scheduled Tribes (STs) which should act as a deterrent to those committing such crimes.

He demanded proper utilisation of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes to redress more complaints of those suffering from oppression and asked all states to take up cases of caste-based oppression seriously to ensure justice.

“Such action should be taken in cases of caste-based oppression so that such incidents do not occur in society and those who commit such crimes feel fear,” he said.

Gautam also urged the Chief Justice of India to take action against judges who deliver decisions with a “casteist mindset” in cases of “oppression”.

“The country is witnessing continuous attacks on Dalits, Adivasis, backward classes and minorities. The situation is particularly bad in the BJP-ruled states and the government’s attitude towards these incidents is highly irresponsible.

“These incidents are so shameful that they disgrace the entire nation and harm the country’s reputation on the global stage,” Gautam said.

Citing figures of rising incidents of crimes against SC/STs, he said in Haryana, 762 harassment incidents occurred in 2017, which increased to 1,628 by 2021. In Madhya Pradesh, 5,892 incidents in a year rose to 7,214 while in Maharashtra, they rose from 1,689 to 2,503 in a year.

“In Odisha, 1,669 incidents in a year rose to 2,327. In Rajasthan, 4,238 incidents in a year increased to 7,224. In Uttar Pradesh, 11,444 incidents in a year rose to 13,144. In Uttarakhand, the figure of 96 incidents in a year increased to 130,” he said, citing official figures.

Despite such incidents, he alleged, the attitude of the state governments is “shameful”. Looking at the data from 2018-2021, the Congress leader said there has been an increase of about 10 per cent in incidents of crimes against SCs and STs.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there has been a 35 per cent increase in incidents of harassment against SC and ST communities between 2018-2022, he claimed, adding that of these, 26 per cent of cases have emerged from UP, where the BJP claims that the best law and order situation exists.

He claimed that the National Scheduled Caste Commission has received 6,02,177 complaints, of which only 5,843 complaints from Scheduled Castes and 1,783 from Scheduled Tribes have been addressed.

“If complaints are not going to be addressed, then why was this Commission established?” he asked.