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Assam assembly LoP Debabrata Saikia on Friday slammed the BJP-led state government stating that it has no concrete plan or genuine intention to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the six communities of the state, as per a release by Assam Congress.
Addressing a press conference today, Saikia stated that, despite Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's public claims, the government has taken no substantive steps to grant ST status to the six communities. Saikia said that if the government truly had the political will, it could have easily moved forward by issuing the required notification. He alleged that although the matter had reached the Rajya Sabha and there was no complexity thereafter, the BJP government deliberately created confusion and complications under the pretext of a Ministerial Group report. He pointed out that during the concluding session of the Assam Legislative Assembly, the Ministerial Group's report on the ST status of the six communities was tabled. "Earlier, during the Budget Session, I had introduced a Private Member's Bill stating that the ST status of the six communities should be implemented as per earlier decisions. At that time, Tribal Affairs Minister Ranoj Pegu assured that the Ministerial Group report would be submitted within one month. Although this was not done within a month, the report was finally tabled after eight months on the very last day of the session, without allowing any discussion or debate. The House was abruptly adjourned," Saikia said. He criticised the Chief Minister's subsequent statements claiming that ST status would not be granted before elections and that certain organisations had allegedly opposed pre-election implementation. "We do not know which organisations the Chief Minister is referring to. If one looks at the archives of his own statements, it will be clear that before the 2019 elections, he himself publicly announced that the issue of ST status had been resolved. From 2019 to 2026, seven years have passed with no meaningful progress," Saikia said, terming it a clear example of BJP's deception in the name of tribal recognition. Saikia asserted that the demand for ST status for the six communities is not a new political claim but a long-standing question of justice. He said previous Congress governments had taken genuine legal and administrative steps, while the current BJP government has deliberately delayed the issue in the name of consultations. He emphasised that ST status is directly linked to social justice and opportunities. Due to the denial of this status, many members of the six communities have been deprived of education, employment, and development schemes, leading to widespread distrust. Referring to constitutional provisions, Saikia said that when the Constitution was adopted in 1950, it clearly laid down mechanisms for reviewing tribal status based on socio-economic conditions. However, no such surveys have been conducted even today. Clarifying further, Saikia said there is no grievance against existing Scheduled Tribes, but opposing the aspirations of other deserving communities goes against the spirit of the Constitution. He accused the BJP of treating the issue casually and using it merely as an electoral slogan, calling it a gross insult to the six communities. Citing Article 342 of the Constitution, Saikia stated that only Parliament has the authority to grant ST status, not the state government alone. He recalled that the Congress had sent formal proposals to the Centre as early as 2005 and 2006, along with reports and surveys prepared much earlier. "By distorting facts, the BJP government has insulted these communities," he said. Tracing the historical efforts, Saikia noted that the Congress first took decisive steps in 1996 under the late Chief Minister Hiteswar Saikia, when the Koch-Rajbongshi community was granted ST status through a central ordinance. In subsequent years, several Congress MPs including Madhab Rajbongshi (1998), Bijoy Krishna Handique (1999), and others, introduced Bills in Parliament advocating ST status for the six communities. A parliamentary committee had also studied the issue in Assam and recommended granting ST status. He alleged that since coming to power in 2016, the BJP has ignored these historical facts, despite forming its own committees. Saikia demanded that the government publicly disclose which organisations have allegedly opposed granting ST status before elections, as claimed by the Chief Minister. Saikia further alleged that over the past ten years, the BJP has played a "shameful political game" with the aspirations of the six communities. He recalled that in 2016, then Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram had promised that ST status would be granted within six months of BJP forming the government in Assam--a promise that remains unfulfilled. With no answers today, Saikia said, the BJP is attempting to mislead people and shift blame onto the Congress. He also mentioned that in 2014, an all-party committee led by the then Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly had submitted a detailed report to the Union Home Minister and the Union Tribal Affairs Minister outlining the process for granting ST status to the six communities. Commenting on the recent situation in Karbi Anglong, Saikia criticised the Chief Minister's remarks regarding eviction drives in the PGR-VGR areas. He termed the comments irresponsible and laughable, especially when the state government is already facing contempt of court proceedings in the Supreme Court over eviction-related issues. (ANI)
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