GUWAHATI, April 2 — Cutting across party lines, members of the State Assembly today demanded Scheduled Tribe status to Koch Rajbongshi community. Raising the issue in the House, the Leader of the Opposition, Sri Bridaban Goswami pointed out that the Koch Rajbonshi community was given the status of Scheduled Tribe twice through ordinances, but the Centre failed to take necessary steps for giving the ST status permanently to the community. He pointed out that other tribes like Ahom, Motok, Moran and tea tribes are also demanding ST status. He suggested that the reservations should be increased to remove the apprehension from the minds of the existing Scheduled Tribes. He also stressed the need for strengthening the bond of unity among different tribes to build the greater Assamese society.
Sri Pabindra Deka (Ind) supported the demand for giving ST status to Koch Rajbongshi community. Sri Dinesh Sarkar (BJP) called upon the State Government to take the initiative to put pressure on the Centre for granting ST status to the Koch Rajbonshi community. Sri Hemendra Nath Brahma (BDLP) said that they were not opposed to granting ST status to Koch Rajbonshis. But at the same time, he said that the reservations for the existing tribals should not be disturbed. Supporting the demand, Sri Sarat Saikia (Cong) demanded inclusion of Motok, Moran and Chutia communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes, while, Sri Paniram Rabha (Cong) demand ST status to Sarania community.
In reply to the discussions, the Minister in charge of welfare of Plain Tribes and Backward Classes, Sri Bharat Chandra Nath said that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had written to Prime Minister on several occasions for granting ST status to Koch Rajbonshi, Ahom, Tea Tribe, Motok, Moran and Chutia communities. However, he said that the Registrar General of India and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have rejected the demand for ST status to Koch Rajbonshis. The Tribal Affairs Ministry has written to the State Government to review the demand or to further justify the same. Sri Narah said that the State Government would soon send a fresh proposal to the Centre with further justification. On the demand for status of ST status to tea and ex-tea tribes, the Tribal Affairs Ministry has asked the State Government to submit a fresh proposal with the original tribe names of the tea and ex-tea tribes, he added. Meanwhile, Sri Ajit Singh (Cong) demanded that the House should pass a resolution to put pressure on the Central Government in this regard.