Assam: Tribal body calls for bandh against bill to grants ST status to ethnic groups
PTI | Updated: Jan 11, 2019, 11:46 ISTHighlights
- The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Amendment Bill seeks to give ST status to six more ethnic groups
- The tribal bodies oppose the bill as they feel that this goes against the interests of "genuine tribals"
- Assam has already been facing unrest due to protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill
A security personnel patrols deserted streets of Kokrajhar.GUWAHATI: A conglomerate of tribal bodies in Assam has called for a 24-hour bandh on Friday to protest a bill that seeks to grant scheduled tribe status to six ethnic groups of the state.
The bandh by the Coordination Committee of the Tribal Organisations of Assam (CCTOA) comes close on the heels of a 11-hour strike called on Tuesday against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
"The central and state governments have hatched a plot to eliminate the genuine tribals of the state," Aditya Khaklary, convenor, CCTOA, said here on Thursday.
The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Amendment Bill seeks to accord ST status to six ethnic groups -- Koch-Rajbongshis, Tea Tribes/Adivasis, Tai Ahoms, Morans, Motoks and Chutia -- was tabled in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The CCTOA accused both the governments for not taking the tribals into confidence while initiating the move.
Khaklary said the bandh will begin from 5am and end on Saturday morning with all essential services exempted from its purview.
On Tuesday, the AASU, supported by more than 100 organisations, had called a state-wide bandh to protest the citizenship bill.
Khaklary said Assam's tribals will continue their struggle to defeat this move, which is aimed at deriving political mileage.
Tabling of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Amendment Bill "is an attempt to console the indigenous people in Assam by announcing the grant of ST status to six communities in the state and it will lead to deterioration in the prevailing situation in the state," he said.
Security across the state has been beefed up in the wake of the bandh call and the continuing protests against the citizenship bill, a police official said.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said in the Parliament on Tuesday that the Assam government had been making recommendations concerning these communities since 1980 and the Home Ministry had formed a committee in 2016 which gave its recommendations in December last year.
Referring to the Bodo community, Singh said the government is committed to fulfill its demands.
He said government will take steps to grant ST status to Bodo Kacharis living in the Hill districts of Assam and Karbis in the plains.
(Inputs from various agencies)
The bandh by the Coordination Committee of the Tribal Organisations of Assam (CCTOA) comes close on the heels of a 11-hour strike called on Tuesday against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
"The central and state governments have hatched a plot to eliminate the genuine tribals of the state," Aditya Khaklary, convenor, CCTOA, said here on Thursday.
The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Amendment Bill seeks to accord ST status to six ethnic groups -- Koch-Rajbongshis, Tea Tribes/Adivasis, Tai Ahoms, Morans, Motoks and Chutia -- was tabled in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The CCTOA accused both the governments for not taking the tribals into confidence while initiating the move.
Khaklary said the bandh will begin from 5am and end on Saturday morning with all essential services exempted from its purview.
On Tuesday, the AASU, supported by more than 100 organisations, had called a state-wide bandh to protest the citizenship bill.
Khaklary said Assam's tribals will continue their struggle to defeat this move, which is aimed at deriving political mileage.
Tabling of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Amendment Bill "is an attempt to console the indigenous people in Assam by announcing the grant of ST status to six communities in the state and it will lead to deterioration in the prevailing situation in the state," he said.
Security across the state has been beefed up in the wake of the bandh call and the continuing protests against the citizenship bill, a police official said.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said in the Parliament on Tuesday that the Assam government had been making recommendations concerning these communities since 1980 and the Home Ministry had formed a committee in 2016 which gave its recommendations in December last year.
Referring to the Bodo community, Singh said the government is committed to fulfill its demands.
He said government will take steps to grant ST status to Bodo Kacharis living in the Hill districts of Assam and Karbis in the plains.
(Inputs from various agencies)
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