Dumka, Jun 7 (PTI) Efforts are being made to erase the tribal culture from Jharkhand, and if this continues, tribals will become extinct in the state in the next five years, former CM Raghubar Das alleged on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference here, Das said Jharkhand was the first state in the country to ban PFI when he was the CM, but the organisation was “blooming” under the present government.

“About a fortnight ago, the Centre directed the Jharkhand government to implement the PESA Act without delay, so that it could disburse Rs 1,400 crores for the development of the scheduled areas. However, the state government did not want the law to be implemented,” he claimed.

Maintaining that the law was an armour for the protection of the tribals, the former Odisha governor asked, “Under whose pressure PESA Act could not yet be implemented here?” He claimed that the way tribals were being “attacked from all sides”, they will certainly be extinct and Jharkhand will “turn into states like Mizoram and Nagaland”.

“If the PESA Act is implemented, traditional self-rule systems will get legal recognition. This will help preserve their religious and cultural system and ensure the all-around development of the tribal society,” he said.

Das said he told state Finance Minister Radhakrishna Kishore that the condition of Dalits was worse than primitive tribes.

“The JMM and Congress do not want the development of tribals. They want them to remain backwards to continue their vote bank politics,” he alleged.

Hitting out at Das, the ruling JMM said the remarks were aimed at breaking the social fabric of the state.

JMM leader Tanuj Khatri said the use of such language by a former CM was nothing but to gain cheap popularity. PTI CORR BS NAM SOM