New Delhi: The unrest at Tezpur University and the long-pending demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for six Assam communities dominated discussions in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, even as the Opposition continued pressing for an urgent debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Raising the Tezpur University issue during Zero Hour, Anchalik Gana Morcha president and Independent MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan said the Central university was undergoing an “alarming administrative breakdown”. He alleged that corruption-related complaints and irregularities had surfaced, while the Vice-Chancellor had been absent from campus for more than two months.
Bhuyan said the prolonged absence had created an administrative vacuum, disrupting academic activities. “The VC cannot run away from responsibilities by staying off campus. One individual cannot be allowed to paralyse a premier institution,” he said, urging the Union Education Ministry to step in and restore order.
Founded in 1994 under the Assam Accord framework, Tezpur University has witnessed continuous protests and dharnas for nearly two months.
AGP MP Birendra Prasad Baishya, speaking next, shifted the debate to the demand for ST status for six communities—Tai Ahom, Moran, Motok, Koch, Chutiya and the Tea Tribe (Adivasi). Calling the demand “historically justified”, he cited British-era documents and noted that the Simon Commission had also recommended tribal status for these groups.
Baishya reaffirmed AGP’s support and said the demands were “genuine”, urging the Centre to take a decision. The issue has sparked heightened tensions in Assam, with supporters and opponents of the proposal staging regular protests.
On Monday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma defended the Group of Ministers’ report on the matter, saying it contained nothing that could “offend” any community.
Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha session continued facing disruptions as Opposition members insisted on an immediate discussion on SIR.