The Congress on Thursday raised in Parliament the alleged boycott of an anganwadi centre in Odisha’s Kendrapara district after a Dalit woman was appointed cook-cum-helper.

Congress president and the leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said the incident in Ghadiamal village had brought to light caste-based prejudices among the majority community against the Scheduled Castes.

Kharge demanded strong action and accountability in cases of caste-based discrimination. “Had the government taken timely actions in such incidents in the past, this incident would not have happened,” he said.

Residents of the Odisha village have stopped sending their children to the anganwadi centre after the Dalit woman was appointed.

At anganwadi centres, cooks prepare meals for
children while workers conduct early childhood education activities.

Senior district administration officials visited the village on Wednesday for a probe
and asked residents to start sending their children to the centre.

During Zero Hour, Kharge said that in the 21st century when some people are talking about social reforms and Hindu unity, most families in an Odisha village have refused to have the food prepared by a cook in an anganwadi centre. Kharge said anganwadi centres lay the foundation for children’s cognitive development and such caste-based prejudice would affect their growth.

“These incidents reflect caste-based discrimination in workplaces. Recently, many such incidents have come to our notice. Had timely action been taken in those cases, such an incident would not have happened,” Kharge said.

He cited several incidents in recent years: a man urinating on a tribal in Madhya Pradesh, a Dalit employee in Gujarat committing suicide because of caste-based exploitation at the workplace, and the linking of an IPS officer’s suicide in Chandigarh to caste bias.

“These incidents demonstrate that caste-based prejudices are not limited to social life alone. They get manifested in workplaces too. This affects the dignity, career progress and safety of weaker sections. Such behaviour is a clear violation of Articles 14, 15 and 17. I demand taking strong and time-bound actions. Accountability must be fixed in cases of such violations,” Kharge said.

On February 10, minister of state for social justice Ramdas Athawale had in Parliament quoted data from the National Crime Records Bureau to say that the number of cases registered under crimes or atrocities against SCs during 2021, 2022 and 2023 was 50,900, 57,582 and 57,789, respectively.