Speaker to talk with parties over sending delegation to Centre

Guwahati: Assam Assembly Speaker Ranjeet Kumar Dass on Thursday said he will discuss with leaders of all political parties over taking a delegation to the Centre for granting ST status to six communities of the state. “I will discuss the issue with the leaders of all political parties. After that I will take a decision about taking an all-party delegation to the Centre,” Dass said during the Question Hour in the Assembly.
AGP MLA Phani Bhusan Choudhury requested the Speaker to lead an all-party delegation to New Delhi to meet the Prime Minister and press for granting ST status to Koch-Rajbongshi, Tai-Ahom, Chutia, Moran, Motak and Tea tribes.
“During the last Assembly, we had discussed this issue many times and decided to take an all-party delegation under the leadership of the Speaker to the Prime Minister. However, we could not meet him,” he said.
Congress MLA Rakibul Hussain informed the House about his party’s support on this issue. Earlier, replying to a query by AGP MLA Ramendra Narayan Kalita, Welfare of Plain Tribes and Backward Classes Minister Pramila Rani Brahma said the previous Congress government had done many work on this issue. “The earlier government had set up a committee under the chairmanship of Home Secretary. Our government is also very serious about the issue,” she said.
Brahma informed the House that the state government has been periodically writing to the Centre for granting ST status to the six communities.
An Additional Chief Secretary and an Additional Director General of Police have attended two meetings called by the Centre on this issue, she said. (PTI)