Tea tribe students body submits memorandum to Assam CM seeking ST status
The Assam Tea Tribes Students Association (ATTSA) on Thursday submitted a memorandum to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma seeking Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the community.
The members handed over the memorandum copy to Dibrugarh Deputy Commissioner Pallav Gopal Jha.
“We have been demanding ST status for a long time, but to date, the government has not paid any heed to our demands. The BJP government, however, has used the issue (ST) to gain political mileage, especially during elections,” said Lakhindra Kurmi, secretary, ATTSA, Dibrugarh.
In the same vein, Bimal Bag, president of Dibrugarh ATTSA, said, “The government has been cheating us for a long time in this regard. In other states, our people are given ST status, but in Assam, the tea tribe community is deferred from getting their rights.”
The students’ body has also warned the government that if their demands are not fulfilled within a stipulated time, they would intensify their protests.
(Edited by Christopher Gatphoh)
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