GUWAHATI: Coordination Committee of the Tribal Organizations, Assam (CCTOA) has called for 24-hour Assam bandh from 5 am of Friday (January 11) in protest against Centre’s bid to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) to six communities in the state.
The Coordination Committee of the Tribal Organizations, Assam has alleged that the move to accord ST status to six ethnic groups – Ahoms, Marans, Muttocks, Chutiyas, Koch-Rajbongshis and Tea Tribe communities – is nothing but ‘a plot’ of the Central and State Governments to ‘eliminate the genuine tribal people’ of the State.
The committee accused the Central as well as State governments of not taking the tribal people of the State into confidence while initiating this move.
A bill to grant ST status to the six indigenous communities has already be tabled in Lok Sabha by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
The proposal to grant ST status to these communities had been approved by the National Commission of Scheduled Tribes (NCST) and the Registrar General of India (RGI).
