Assam: Koch-Rajbanshi Students Union Criticises State for Not Granting ST Status

The All Koch-Rajbanshi Students' Union expressed their unhappiness regarding the government’s inability to grant the Scheduled Tribe status to the community as promised by them.

Sentinel Digital Desk

Published:6th Sep, 2024 at 8:28 PM

Kokrajhar: The All Koch-Rajbanshi Students' Union expressed their unhappiness regarding the government’s inability to grant the Scheduled Tribe status to the community as promised by them.

The members of the All Koch-Rajbanshi Students' Union (AKRSU) held a press conference on Friday to express their concerns regarding Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma's recent comments on the tribal status of six communities in Assam. The All Koch-Rajbanshi Students' Union criticized the BJP government, alleging that it has betrayed the Koch community, similar to past actions by the Congress party.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had previously promised to grant Scheduled Tribe status to six communities within six months during his visits to Assam. However, despite leading the government for three terms, Modi has not yet fulfilled this promise, alleged the members of the All Koch-Rajbanshi Students' Union.

Sonadhar Rai, General Secretary of the Sunil Rai unit of All Koch-Rajbanshi Students' Union, expressed his frustration with the chief minister’s recent comments remarks. He announced plans to lead an opposition campaign in the Koch-Rajbanshi region in 2026 to challenge the BJP government and urged Koch-Rajbanshi MLAs to focus on securing tribal status for the six communities.

Previously, Bodoland Janajati Suraksha Manch (BJSM) had also alleged that the successive governments have been playing a vote bank politics over the issue of ST status to six communities of Assam whose pleas have already been rejected repeatedly by the Registrar General of India for not fulfilling the criteria for being ST. President of BJSM Janaklal Basumatary in a statement said all the six communities Rajbongshi, Adivasi, Moran, Motok, Ahom and Chutiya who are demanding ST status in Assam are already enjoying the constitutional benefit of OBC reservations. He said the RGI happened to examine their petition on several occasions, but all of them were found not fulfilling the prescribed criteria for granting ST status to these six communities in Assam.