Hard-bitten Tea Tribes set to draw own poll strategy!

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Jan 12: Toughened by experience of prolonged deprivation, a number of tea tribe organizations have decided to play a decisive role in the forthcoming Assembly elections in the State.

A number of Tea Tribe and Adivasi organizations, including Chah aru Praktan Chah Jajati Yuva Santha, Chah Jajati Yuva Federation, Sadou Adivasi Chah Jajati Jagaran Santha, Sadou Adivasi Chatra Santha, and Samarthito Chah O Praktan Chah Jajati Mahila Samiti, have decided to form an organization so as to draw a strategy to get their demands fulfilled.

Talking to newsmen in the city today, the leaders of the organizations said: “Over the years various political parties of Assam have been blackmailing us. They have not been treating us as an ‘ethnic group’ but as an ‘ethnic group for use in electoral battles’. Tea Tribes and Adivasis are STs in other States, but not in Assam. How come this be? Only before every election, the political parties make promises in their respective election manifestoes on according us ST status.”

The tea tribe leaders further said: “Our mes have been deleted from the Food Security Act. Labourers’ wage has not been fixed as yet, and the quantity of their ration has been reduced. No politician likes to speak against all such ill treatment meted out to us, not even the MLAs, MPs and ministers who make it to the power centres from the Tea Tribe community. After being elected, they conveniently forget where they come from.” The leaders of the organization said that they would meet soon and take strategy to face the situation. They took a resolution to form the All Tea Tribe Adivasi Coordition Committee soon.