Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. File
| Photo Credit: X/@Congress
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday (February 28, 2025) attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government over what he termed was its “deliberate neglect” of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, calling it “proof of the anti-Dalit mentality of the BJP government”.
In a post on X, Mr. Gandhi said, “The National Commission for Scheduled Castes, which protects the rights of Dalits, has been deliberately neglected – two of its key posts have been lying vacant for the last one year. This commission is a constitutional institution – weakening it is a direct attack on the constitutional and social rights of Dalits.” He further called for the PM to fill all posts in the Commission as soon as possible.
The present National Commission for Scheduled Castes is the 7th Commission constituted. President Droupadi Murmu on March 9, 2024, appointed Gujarat BJP leader Kishor Makwana as Chairperson and Love Kush Kumar and Vaddepalli Ramchander as members. Since then, no other members or Vice Chairperson have been appointed.
The Constitution mandates that the NCSC has a Chairperson, V-C, and three members. The last time all top posts were filled at NCSC was during the tenure of the 5th Commission, headed by Chairperson Ram Shankar Katheria from 2017 to 2020.
An official with NCSC said on Friday that it is not for the Commission to comment on vacancy of posts.
While the posts of V-C and one member is vacant at NCSC, the Commission is also missing key officials like a Law Officer for their Legal Cell, and a couple of other posts at the level of Section Officer.
The NCSC’s counterparts for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) – the National Commission for OBCs and the National Commission for STs – are also missing a V-C in the current Commission. In addition to falling short of a V-C, the NCBC is also missing at least two members.
Further, the government told Parliament in December 2024 that it had been unable to fill the post of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities with a permanent appointee for over five years, leaving the Disability Department Secretary to hold the office as additional charge.
The National Commission for Safai Karmacharis was also functioning with four fewer members than its mandate calls for, until January this year when one more member was appointed to the NCSK. As of now, the NCSK is functioning with a Chairperson, VC, and two members while it mandates calls for a total of five members.
Published – February 28, 2025 11:27 pm IST