The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) chief advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya on Friday, while taking on the Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Juel Oram’s statement on providing scheduled tribe status to the six ethnic communities of Assam, alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central Government has failed to fulfill the promises made before 2014 Lok-Sabha election.
Bhattacharya said, “The Centre and the BJP-led State Government have changed its stand on the matter. The Government has avoiding the matter. But I would like to make it clear that the Government must provide the status as the six communities of the State deserve that.”
Bringing allegation on the Centre, the AASU chief advisor further said, “The Centre has an eye on the natural resources of Assam. The Government has no intension to solve the problems of the State like providing constitutional safeguard to the indigenous people of Assam, providing scheduled tribe status to the six communities which we in association with other groups have been demanding etc.”
Bhattacharya further said, “The interest of the other ethnic groups should not be hampered while providing scheduled tribe status to the six communities. AASU has full support on the matter.”
On the statement made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who termed Northeast as the ‘astalaxmi’ during the 2016 Assam Assembly election campaign, Dr Bhattacharya questioned the Centre, “What is ‘astalaxmi’? The Centre has sidelined the main issue.”