'Bill to Amend Article 15 of Constitution Needed'

07.12.2013, Kochi:

A bill seeking the amendment of Article 15 of the Constitution is the need of the hour, said Brinda Karat, former MP and CPM Politburo member. The Article prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth but does not contain anything that could safe guard the rights of physically challenged, she said. “What the differently-abled need is not charity and kind words but action and equal rights, Brinda Karat said while inaugurating the first national conference of National Platform for the Rights of Disabled (NPRD) at Kochi on Friday. She pointed out that 75 per cent of the physically challenged live in rural areas under distraught conditions. “The government has enough money, but sadly not to aid the differently-abled. In many states, they are still being given a meager pension of `200 to `300,” she said. A major problem encountered by them is the absence of a universal identity card, she said. “Unless they do not have this card they cannot avail the limited benefits they have. Tripura government’s effort to distribute an identity card at their door step is a measure to be lauded. This shows that giving an identity card is possible, if they show enough sensitivity and vision,” she said. Brinda said that unless there is penalty imposed on those agencies, both government and private which restrict the smooth access of differently-abled, there would not be a substantial change in their situation. More than 400 physically challenged persons from across the country are participating in the three day seminar. C N Karunakaran, Former chairman, Kerala Lalithakala Academy presided over the function.

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