Congress blames BJP for failing to provide ST status to 6 ethnic groups

DIBRUGARH: The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhupen Borah on Saturday blamed the BJP government for failing to provide ST status to the six-ethnic groups of Assam.

Addressing a press conference in Dibrugarh, Bhupen Borah said, “When our government was in power in Assam, we have taken the matter seriously and started the process to provide ST status to the six-ethnic community of Assam.”

“We have met with top BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh and apprised them about the issue but nothing fruitful has come out and now they are blaming us. In actuality, they oppose the Assamese six ethnic groups being granted ST status,” Borah said.

Senior Congress leader and Nagaon MP Pradyut Bordoloi came down heavily on Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for delaying in providing ST status to six-ethnic groups of Assam.

“Nine years ago, before parliamentary election, PM Modi had promised that if their government will come to power then within 100 days, six-ethnic groups of Assam will be granted ST status but now BJP is in power both in state and centre but they could not grant ST status to the community. Congress always wanted that these communities should be tagged as Scheduled Tribe because they are the indigenous people of Assam,” Bordoloi said.

He said, “We have no issues with the six ethnic groups being given ST status and, if necessary, Assam being designated as a tribal state.”

“Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been trying to brand himself as a Hindutva leader and he believes in casteism who don’t want ST status to be granted to six-ethnic groups,” Bordoloi alleged.

Notably, all the six communities meet the five criteria for ST classification, which include evidence of primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographic isolation, reluctance to contact with the general population, and backwardness, according to central government norms.

In 2019, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) had approved that these communities possess the characteristics qualifying them for inclusion in the ST list of Assam.

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