GUWAHATI: BJP national secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa has said the six ethnic groups from Assam do not fulfil the criteria for getting the Scheduled Tribe (STS) status, which invited sharp criticism from various groups.

The six communities – Moran, Muttock, Koch, Rajbongshi, Tai Ahom, Chutia and Adivasi (Tea Tribe)– have long been demanding that they be shifted from the OBC list to the ST category.

“The six communities from Assam do not fulfil the criteria for granting ST status and that is why the Registrar General of India (RGI) has many times rejected the proposal of the government. The government can’t review the proposal for granting ST tag to them,” Tasa told reporters here.

“The issue of granting ST tag to six communities will not have any impact in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. There are many difficulties. What will happen if the ST status is granted to the communities- one or two seats will be reserved, that’s all. We will also be happy if the ST status is granted to them. But the rules and regulations do not permit it,” he added.

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 Reacting sharply to Tasa’s statement, the leader of the opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia said, “Tasa’s statement exposed how much the BJP is serious about granting ST status to the six communities of Assam. Tasa is the national secretary of the BJP. One he had led the movement for granting ST tag to tea tribe community and his statement can’t be ignored.”

“it is good for the Cabinet sub-committee on the issue to submit a report to the government that ST status can’t be granted to the six communities, so that those who are waiting for BJP for ST tag, should know the truth and those also who have been demanding ST status should give a fitting reply to ir,” Saikia said.

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“This is not fact. They fulfil all criteria for getting the ST tag. They also accepted it. In a meeting on Kokrajhar, Union tribal affairs minister Joel Oram said the file was in his table and he would clear the file once he returned from the meeting,” Saiakia also said.

“It was the electoral promise of BJP during the 2014, 2016, 2019 and 2021 elections. But they have failed to implement it, it is nothing but a jhumla,” Saaikia added.

Reacting to Tasa’s comment, All Assam Koch Rajbongshi Sanmilani (AAKRS) general secretary Ranaditya Kumar Barman said: “Tasa’s comment proved enough that BJP is not sincere on the issue. The BJP has betrayed the people of the Koch Rajbongshi community in the last nine years. If the Koch Rajbaongshsi and other five communities have not fulfilled the criteria, how they introduce a Bill in the Rajya Sabha?”

“In an election rally in Bongaigaon during the 2014 election, Narendra Modi had promised that a Bill would be introduced for granting ST status to six communities within six months of forming a government by the BJP. This was only to woo the voters of Koch Rajbongshis,” Barman said.

“Now we are ready to reply to the BJP in the upcoming elections. We will reject the party which speaks lies and betrays our people,” Barman added.

In protest against Tasa’s statement, all regional and district committees of the All Adivasi Students Association of Assam (AASAA) staged protests across the state.

“A Rajya Sabha MP should not speak like this. If we do not have the criteria, he also does not have. How can he speak on BJP’s platform on behalf of the six communities,” said AASAA general secretary Pradeep Nag.

“We will reconsider our relationship with BJP after such a comment from a responsible MP and national secretary of BJP. It reflects BJP’s sincerity towards our issues,” Nag added.