GoM report on ST status won’t offend, says Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday asserted that the Group of Ministers’ report on granting Scheduled Tribe status to six communities of the state does not contain anything that could “offend” any section.
He claimed that those protesting against it have not properly read the report.
The report with the recommendations of the GoM on the demand for ST status by Ahom, Chutia, Moran, Matak, Koch-Rajbongshi and Tea Tribes (adivasis) communities was laid in the assembly on Saturday, the last day of the Winter Session.
“There is nothing in the report that can offend anyone. It ensures that all communities and sub-communities move forward,” Sarma told reporters on sidelines of a programme in Nagaon district. “If everyone reads the report properly, they will know that no injustice has been done to anyone. All sections will get justice,” he said.
Asked about students from the Bodoland University on Saturday storming the assembly hall of the BTC secretariat in Kokrajhar, and vandalising property during a protest against the cabinet’s approval of the report, the CM said, “It was laid in the assembly around 7 pm, and the protest was held at 3 pm. It means that the demonstration took place before tabling of the report.”
Sarma had said on Sunday that some people were commenting on the report without reading it.
If there is any “difficulty in reading and understanding” the report, there may be some doubt in a few people’s minds, he had said at a press briefing after a cabinet meeting.
“But, if it is read carefully, there will not be any doubt. The cabinet decided that the three ministers of the GoM – Ranoj Pegu, Keshab Mahanta and Pijush Hazarika – will invite CCTOA representatives for a discussion and explain the report in front of them to alleviate any misunderstanding,” Sarma said.
The Coordination Committee of Tribal Organisations of Assam (CCTOA) has been spearheading the agitation against the GoM report, claiming that the existing ST communities will be adversely affected if the six communities are included in the reservation category.
The report has 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.
It has proposed the formation of a new category of ‘ST (Valley)’, and inclusion of Ahom, Chutia, Tea Tribes, and Kock-Rajbongshi (excluding undivided Goalpara) in it. For Moran, Matak and Kock-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 added that dialogue has to continue with all stakeholders for a “conclusive solution”, and the final nod has to be given by Parliament through constitutional amendment.