In the parliament on Tuesday, Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) MP Udit Raj objected to retired Supreme Court judge Adarsh Kumar Goel’s appointment as the Chairperson of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The BJP lawmaker said that as a judge in the Supreme Court, Goel’s judgement in the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, had “adversely affected the lives of Dalits.”
Now, Goel’s appointment as the chief of NGT has “caused immense pain to the lives of Dalits,” claimed Raj.
Similar concerns were raised by BJP ally and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan on Tuesday. He had also claimed that the Dalit community was “unhappy” with Goel’s selection as NGT chief as he is the “same judge who ruled against” the SC/ST Act.
Raj added that Goel’s judgement had resulted in a nation-wide bandh which led to the deaths of many Dalits.
He said, “of the 10 Dalits who were killed in protests, eight died in non-police firing.” “The so-called savarns could not stomach the fact that Dalits had stood up for their rights,” reported News 18.