Assam: Cong, Raijor Dal stage walkout over delay in ST status to 6 communities

Guwahati, Jul 14 (PTI) Opposition Congress and Raijor Dal on Tuesday staged a walkout in the Assam assembly over delay in according Scheduled Tribe status to six indigenous communities of the state. Leader of the Opposition Wajed Ali Choudhury raised the issue as Special Mention under Rule 301, and sought to know when will the ST status be accorded to the communities. "Why is is taking so much time? The government has so far made repeated announcements, but nothing concrete has come out. At what stage is the decision of the state and the Centre pending?" the senior Congress leader said. Replying to the discussion, Assam Tribal Affairs (Plain) Minister Ranoj Pegu said a Group of Ministers (GoM) has already submitted its report in the assembly. "After that, some groups concerned gave their suggestions and a few of those have been incorporated. That is why we could not send the report to Delhi. Thereafter, the assembly elections took place," he said. The chief minister has approved the modifications and it will now be sent to the Centre for further action, Pegu said. When the minister did not give any deadline to accord ST status to the six communities, Raijor MLA Akhil interrupted and asked when it will take place. With no answer from Pegu, Congress and Raijor Dal MLAs exited the House in protest. Assam's Moran, Motok, Chutia, Tai-Ahom, Koch-Rajbongshi and Tea-Tribes communities have been demanding ST status for many years. The GoM had submitted an interim report in the assembly in November last year with its recommendations on the demand for ST status. The report recommended a three-tier reservation classification of STs in the state so that the demand can be met without affecting the reservation of the existing tribal groups. If these communities are granted ST status, they will come under reservation for education and jobs. It has proposed the formation of a new category of 'ST (Valley)', and inclusion of Tai-Ahom, Chutia, Tea Tribes, and Koch-Rajbongshi (excluding undivided Goalpara) in it. For Moran, Motok and Koch-Rajbongshi (Goalpara), it said they can be included in 'ST (Plains)', and the existing communities in this category “do not have much opposition”. The report also said that dialogue has to continue with all stakeholders for a “conclusive solution”, and the final nod has to be given by Parliament through a constitutional amendment. PTI TR RBT