ST Status: Ajit Kr Bhuyan demands introduction of the Bill in Rajya Sabha

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Rajya Sabha MP Ajit Bhuyan on Monday demanded 'The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2019' to be introduced and put for voting in the forthcoming session of the Rajya Sabha.

The Bill aims at granting ST status to six communities of Assam, namely Tai Ahom, Koch-Rajbongshi, Moran, Motok, Chutia and Adivasi (Tea) Tribes. It has been their long-standing demand to include them in the Scheduled Tribe list of Assam.

"Prior to the run up to the introduction of CitizenshipAmendment Bill (CAB) in the Parliament, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram introduced the said Bill in the Rajya Sabha on January 9, 2019 for the inclusion of the six communities in the ST list of Assam. However, CAB became CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) but the Bill for scheduling was not put to vote and allowed to lapse," Bhuyan asserted.

The leader said that it is unfortunate that the number of Rajya Sabha sessions has passed in the last one and half year since the introduction of the Bill, but the BJP led Central Government has not taken any step to reintroduce and vote for the Bill. BJP led Government has allowed the issue to remain hanging only for making political gains, which is a betrayal of the six communities, Bhuyan underlined.

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