The Union Urban Development ministry is now favourably considering to provide limited exemption to Jain saints and allow them to defecate in the open.
New Delhi, January 11, 2017: The Modi government’s dream of an ODF (Open Defecation Free) India has hit yet another road block. The Union Urban Development ministry is now favourably considering to provide limited exemption to Jain saints and allow them to defecate in the open.
The Digambar Jain Panchayat in Ashoknagar district of Madhya Pradesh had passed a resolution in December, 2016, seeking government intervention on the proposed ban on open defecation. The Panchayat in its resolution had sighted that Jain traditions and religious beliefs and demanded a limited exemption from ban on open defecation for Jain saints and religious heads.
Jain Community Seeks Scindia’s Help
Digambar Jain Panchayat president Ramesh Chaudhary had also approached Guna-Ashok Nagar Member of Parliament Jyotiraditya Scindia with the resolution seeking his support for the cause.
Scindia in turn wrote to Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu on December 16 last year, seeking a favourable disposition of the matter.Naidu on December 28 wrote back to Scindia saying the matter had been referred to the concerned officials and department of the ministry.
Status Tag for Madhya Pradesh
The Madhya Pradesh government has made ODF a status tag for every district in the state and municipal corporations are working over time to get this tag.
On many occasions the ODF activists have turned vigilantes in the state and have resorted to public shaming of people defecating in the open.
In Jhabua, the nagar parishad had come up with hoardings saying those defecating in the open will get death while an elderly man suffering from an upset stomach was forced to clean his crap with his dhoti. The vigilantes also made a video of the incident and made it viral on social media. – News Courtesy: India Today