CHENNAI: Villupuram MP and VCK general secretary D Ravikumar on Friday alleged that the Union government was planning to amend the rules under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and questioned the secrecy surrounding the exercise.

In a social media post, Ravikumar said an order issued by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment showed that a task force constituted on December 23, 2025, to recommend amendments to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) rules had its tenure extended by four months until July 22, 2026.

Questioning the purpose of the panel, he asked what amendments it was expected to recommend and who its members were, alleging that these details had been kept under wraps. He said even lawyers handling SC/ST cases in the Supreme Court were unaware of the task force.

Recalling that the BJP-led Union government had earlier attempted to amend the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in a manner that, according to him, would have diluted its provisions before withdrawing the move following widespread public opposition, Ravikumar wondered whether the Centre was now seeking to amend the rules instead of the Act.

He alleged that the secrecy surrounding the exercise suggested that the proposed changes could be detrimental to the SC/ST community and demanded that the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment explain the purpose of the task force, disclose its membership and clarify the proposed amendments.