ADILABAD: Adilabad MP and BJP leader Soyam Bapu Rao ruffled a few feathers on Saturday with his comments on the ongoing conflict between Adivasi farmers and the forest department. “If any forest official enters Podu lands, belonging to Adivasis, in the name of Haritha Haram, stop them right there. Drive them away without any fear. And if they plant any trees, uproot them,” he told Adivasis.

He was at Mathadiguda village near Utnoor to participate in a programme to mark the death anniversary of Adivasi Hakkula Porata Samithi (Tudum Debba) founder Siddam Shambu. Speaking to those present, Bapu Rao said the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was inflicting injustice on the Adivasi community by making them evacuate forest areas. “Adivasis have been living in forest areas and cultivating them for years. They do not destroy forests, they keep them safe,” he said.

Rao also said there needed to be a statue of Tudum Debba founder Siddham Shambu, for which funds need to be collected from the community. He added that on December 9 this year, he would stage a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi for Adivasi rights.