‘Grant ST status before 2026’: AJP chief challenges CM amid rising unrest

Dibrugarh, Dec 1: Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) president Lurinjyoti Gogoi, on Monday, threw down a direct political challenge to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, urging him to resolve the long-pending issue of granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to six communities before the 2026 Assembly elections.

Addressing the press at Dibrugarh Press Club, Gogoi alleged that although the proposal to grant ST status had reached Parliament “years ago”, the BJP-led government had deliberately avoided taking it forward.

“When the Bill is already in Parliament and only needs to be passed, why form a new ministerial committee and call for another report? This is nothing but a complete farce. I challenge the Chief Minister to complete the process before the upcoming election,” he said.

Gogoi accused the BJP of staging what he called a “political lollipop” ahead of the polls to woo voters.

Drawing a sharp comparison with the speed at which demonetisation was implemented, he questioned why the “double-engine sarkar” had been unable to resolve the ST demand despite having BJP governments at both the Centre and the state.

“The Centre brought demonetisation overnight. Assam has had two BJP chief ministers, yet they couldn’t resolve the ST status issue for six communities. This is a total election lollipop,” he said.

Chief Minister Sarma, reacting to Gogoi’s remarks, hit back sharply. Speaking to the press in Nagaon, he said the AJP leader habitually dismissed every government initiative as a “lollipop”.

“Whatever we do, Lurinjyoti Gogoi calls it a lollipop. When we provided Orunodoi, he called it a lollipop. When the Nijut Moina scheme came, he said the same. But people are benefiting from these schemes,” Sarma responded.

The Chief Minister also addressed the brewing unrest over the ST status demand. After a cabinet meeting on Sunday, he said the government would invite protesting groups for discussions on the Group of Ministers’ (GoM) report.

The three-member GoM, including Ranoj Pegu, Keshab Mahanta and Pijush Hazarika, will meet representatives of the Coordination Committee of Tribal Organisations of Assam (CCTOA) to clarify provisions in the report. Sarma added that he would personally meet them if required.

He reiterated that the government’s proposal seeks to include the six communities in the ST list without affecting the reservation benefits of existing tribal groups.