GUWAHATI, SEP 15: A day after the Cabinet cleared the proposal to grant ST status to several communities in 5 states, members of several organisations belonging to the six communities in Assam seeking ST status staged a joint demonstration in Dibrugarh on Thursday for leaving out the five communities.
The members of the Tai Ahom Yuba Parishad Assam (TAYPA), Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA), All Assam Mottok Yuba Chatra Sanmilan (AAMYCS), All Assam Chutia Students’ Union (AACSU), All Assam Moran Students’ Union (AAMSU) and All Assam Koch Rajbongshi Yuba Chatra Sanmilani (AAKRYCS) participated in the protest and raised slogans against the Centre for non-inclusion of the six communities of Assam in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) proposal list.
The protestors also burnt the effigy of Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda.
The organisations also threatened to launch a massive agitation across the state if the Centre fails to confer ST status to the six communities of the state as promised.
Granting of ST status to six communities of Assam – Tai Ahom, Koch Rajbongshi, Chutia, Moran, Motok and Tea Tribes – was a poll promise of the BJP since every election from 2014 Lok Sabha election onwards.
“Our protest is against the hollow promise of the BJP government regarding granting of ST status to the six communities of Assam. Once again we have been deprived of the ST status after waiting for so long. It was also a poll promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the election campaign in Assam.
The BJP has been wining elections after elections since 2014 by riding on the false promise of granting ST status. Eight years have passed but still there is no clarity on the issue. Neither the Centre nor the state government is serious in the matter. We are going to launch a massive state-wide agitation in the coming days on protest against the betrayal,” TAYPA joint secretary Dipjyoti Duwarah said.