‘Little hope to get ST status during tenure of NDA government’

GUWAHATI: Leaders of six communities demanding ST status on Friday said they haven’t got get any ‘concrete assurance’ from chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal whether they will get the tag during the tenure of the present NDA government.

On Thursday, Sonowal met the leaders of the six communities and told them that the government would submit a proposal to the Centre after holding discussions with all the stakeholders to facilitate granting of ST status without affecting the rights and privileges of the existing communities enjoying the tag.

The chief minister said the Centre has already introduced a bill for granting ST status to six communities after fulfilling the entire requirement from the Registrar General of India, National Commission for Scheduled Tribe and Central Cabinet. The group of ministers set up for the purpose is likely to submit its report by February 15.

The six communities seeking ST status are Koch Rajbongshi, Tai Ahom, Moran, Motok, Chutia and Adivasi. The six communities are currently in OBC category, which comprises 27% of the state’s population. BJP had promised ST status in the 2014 Lok Sabha election and 2016 assembly election.

“The move to grant ST status came at the fag end of the term of the present government. So, skepticism is very high whether it is going to be another promise for the upcoming parliamentary election. At the meeting with the chief minister, we did not get any concrete assurance whether the Centre is determined to grant ST during its present tenure,” said president of All Moran Students’ Union (AMSU) Arunjyoti Moran. He added that the determination the government showed for the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was lacking in the case of ST status for the six communities.

All Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union general secretary Gokul Barman said the chief minister should have actively pursued with the Centre to ensure early passage of the bill for ST status. “We are told that the group of ministers will submit its report on February 15. It’s already late, and we have very little hope. It was BJP which promised ST status for the six communities in 2014 and 2016. Yet, it took so much time to move the bill,” Barman added.

The organisations representing the six communities have already warned of a statewide agitation if the bill is not passed in the next Parliament session in February.