Bill to include communities in ST list of Chhattisgarh passed by Lok Sabha

Earlier, speaking on the Bill which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 9, members across party lines raised issues affecting the Adivasis in their regions including that of providing them basic amenities, giving them representation according to their population and protecting them from fake caste certification for reservation.Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the government should bring a comprehensive legislation on tribals.We have always said a comprehensive Bill should be brought, not in piecemeal manner.

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a Bill to include Dhanuhar, Dhanuwar, Kisan, Saunra, Saonra and Binjhia communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Chhattisgarh.

The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022 was passed by Lok Sabha through voice vote.

The Bill also seeks to formalise Bhuinya, Bhuiyan and Bhuyan as synonyms of the Bharia Bhumia community. It also includes three Devanagari versions of the name of the Pando community.

Replying to a debate on the Bill in the House, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said the Bill has been brought based on the modalities fixed by the Union government to resolve the issues related to tribal communities. He said bills have been brought in earlier to resolve issues pertaining to tribal communities in states such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Munda also accused the opposition Congress of trying to gain political mileage out of the issues of tribals.

''This is why you and your party did not get the post of leader of Opposition, you have become limited in your imagination, you are only raising the issues of one state...,'' Munda said.

''Who formed the Lokur Committee? You did not follow its recommendations. Adivasis of the country want to know why you did not implement it?'' he said.

''Only the BJP government will give justice to tribal communities. We are working on it continuously,'' he said. Earlier, speaking on the Bill which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 9, members across party lines raised issues affecting the Adivasis in their regions including that of providing them basic amenities, giving them representation according to their population and protecting them from fake caste certification for reservation.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the government should bring a ''comprehensive legislation'' on tribals.

''We have always said a comprehensive Bill should be brought, not in piecemeal manner. You became MLA due to reservation, became CM, you became MP due to reservation, and because of that you became a minister. Did the BJP do it or Congress? You think Congress did not do anything...,'' said Chowdhury. He also alleged that the Union government's ''push for privatisation'' is ''jeopardizing reservation''.

''The Modi government's push for privatisation is jeopardizing reservation. PSUs are a prominent source of employment and are mandated to follow reservation rules. Rapid and ill-thought-out privatisation of these units will also lead to scuttling of reservation,'' he said.

Several opposition members urged the government to take a holistic approach on reservation for tribals and urged it to bring a comprehensive bill that covers all communities to be included in the Scheduled Tribes category instead of bringing state-wise legislation.

Some opposition members also questioned if the government was bringing state-wise bills for political considerations.

Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule said while she welcomes the government's move to include names of communities left out from the ST list, why had the government not brought a ''comprehensive bill'' that covers all such communities.

Echoing similar views, National Conference's Hasnain Masoodi asked why the government is not bringing one bill to include names of communities in the ST list that have been left out if there is no procedural issue.

DMK's DNV Senthilkumar, while welcoming the bill, said that more communities need to be added to the list. YSRCP's Sanjeev Kumar Singari said that the number of Scheduled Tribe communities should be increased on the basis of their population in districts.

Shiv Sena leader Rajendra Gavit raised concerns over the use of fake caste certificates in Maharashtra to con members of the tribal communities and urged the government to take strict action against such culprits.

''With fake certificates many get reservations. Land belonging to these communities cannot be handed over to non-Adivasis. They do it by taking fake certificates. I demand strict action against them,'' he said.

The Bill also substitutes names of certain tribal communities in the Constitution Order, with corresponding names in the Hindi version of the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000. For instance, the names of Oraon, Dhanka, and Dhangad communities will be substituted.