New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
on Sunday called for "zero tolerance" towards the "menace" of
ragging and asked Governors to ensure that the practice is
rooted out once and for all.
"The practice of subjecting promising young men and
women to physical, psychological and emotional abuse cannot be
tolerated in any civilized society. We must collectively do
everything that is required to end this menace," the Prime
Minister said speaking on the concluding day of the Governors'
Conference here.
As Chancellors of the university system, Governors have a
special responsibility to ensure that this menace is wiped out
for good, Singh said.
"It needs to be made unambiguously clear to authorities
of educational institutions, other enforcement agencies, and
the student community, that there is zero tolerance to ragging
of any kind."
Ragging was one of the items on the agenda for this
conference.
Underlining the Supreme Court's clear directions issued
in May 2009 for curbing incidents of ragging, Singh said his
government had taken several steps to check the practice.
In response to the Governors of Meghalaya and some other
northeastern states pointing out that students from the region
face discrimination when they come to study in Delhi, he said,
"This has to be seen in the general context of complaints of
discriminatory treatment to our citizens from North Eastern
states when they choose to live in other parts of the
country."
He assured that the UPA government stands committed to
the physical and emotional integration of our northeastern
states into the mainstream of development.
"I would request the Home Minister to look into these
issues again and do whatever more is required to address
them," Singh said.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, October 30, 2011, 21:56