KRNC seeks clarity on Scheduled Tribe status issue

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Koch Rajbongshi National Convention (KRNC) on Friday urged the Centre and State Government to "stop the mudslinging game" over the issue of grant of Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities of Assam. The KRNC has instead asked both the Governments to immediately clarify whether ST status to the Koch Rajbongshi, Tai Ahom, Chutia, Matak, Moran and Tea Tribes communities of Assam.

The KRNC's appeal to the Centre and State Governments came in response to the answer provided in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday by Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Bishweswar Tudu in response to a question posed by Congress MP Ripun Bora.

Bora had asked whether the Government of India intends to include the six indigenous communities of Assam in the Scheduled Tribe list and, if so, the timeline by which it will be notified and, if not, the reasons for non-inclusion in the ST list. Bora had further asked whether the Centre intends to take any measures to secure the well-being of the six communities without hampering the rights and quotas of the existing Schedule Tribes of Assam and, if so, the details in this regard.

In response, the Union Minister had stated that after receiving a proposal in this regard from the Government of Assam, "The Government of India on 15.6.1999 (further amended on 25.6.2002) has laid down the modalities for determining the claims for inclusion in, exclusion from and other modifications in the Orders specifying list of Scheduled Tribes. According to these modalities, only those proposals which have been recommended and justified by the concerned State Government/ Union Territory Administration and concurred with by the Registrar General of India (RGI) and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes are to be considered for amendment of legislation. All actions are taken as per these modalities."

However, Tudu added, "A committee of Ministers was constituted by the then State Govt. of Assam on 14.01.2019. No proposal based on the recommendation of the Committee has been received."

KRNC general secretary Biswajit Ray said on Friday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should stop giving assurances of granting ST status to the Koch Rajbongshi community as a pre-election ploy.

He said it was extremely unfortunate for the community that even though there are BJP-led Governments at both the Centre and Dispur, there has so much dilly-dallying over the issue.

Ray said that they sense a "deep conspiracy" because the then senior Cabinet Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had shown a lot of enthusiasm for settlement of the matter when he was appointed as chairman of the Cabinet sub-committee which was set up to go into the ST status issue before the last Assembly elections, but now the issue has reached an impasse.

Ray demanded that the Chief Minister should clarify as to whether the proposal of the Cabinet sub-committee will be forwarded to the Centre or not.

The KRNC leader appealed to both the Governments expeditiously to take firm steps for grant of Constitutional safeguards to the Koch Rajbonghsi community, "which is on the verge of extinction."

Also Read: Hindu Groups Force Boys To Wear Saffron Scarfs In Classroom In Karnataka

Also Watch: