ST push for six communities exposes Opposition’s ‘desperation’: BJP
The Assam BJP has accused the Congress of political frustration over the ST status process for six communities, saying opposition criticism is baseless.
A file image of members of Koch Rajbongshi community taking out a protesting demanding ST status (AT Image)
Guwahati, Dec 9: The ruling BJP on Monday claimed that the recent initiatives taken by the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government on granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities have pushed the Opposition into what it called a state of “political despair”.
Reacting to criticism from Opposition parties, Assam Pradesh BJP spokesperson Kamal Kumar Medhi said the Congress and its allies were making baseless and incoherent statements after steadily losing public support among the six communities seeking ST status.
Medhi claimed that members of the six communities were expressing satisfaction over the government’s role in advancing the process and that the Opposition’s statements had instead hurt the sentiments of the very people they claim to represent.
He said the BJP strongly condemned the Opposition’s conduct, describing it as a sign of “extreme political frustration”.
Targeting the Congress, Medhi alleged that the party had ignored the long-standing demand of the six communities despite being in power both at the Centre and in Assam for decades.
He claimed that even during the Constituent Assembly debates, the Congress could have included communities such as the Moran, Matak and Chutia in the ST list but chose not to act.
He further alleged that successive Congress governments after Independence showed indifference towards the issue.
Referring to the Koch Rajbongshi community, Medhi accused the Congress of betraying them by granting interim ST status briefly and later withdrawing it, which he said caused deep resentment among the community.
Medhi also alleged that a resolution passed by the previous Congress government in the Assam Legislative Assembly in 2011 delayed the entire ST recognition process for the six communities.
He stated that despite the hurdles created by earlier regimes, the BJP-led NDA government is now moving ahead with the process of tribal recognition with constitutional care and responsibility. He added that repeated criticism by Opposition leaders reflected a lack of sincerity on the issue.
Taking a political swipe, Medhi said it was because of what he termed “negative and insincere politics” that the Congress, once a dominant force in Assam, has now been reduced to 22 Assembly seats. He claimed that the party had alienated itself from Assam’s indigenous communities and ethnic groups.