Tezpur University unrest, ST status push ring out amid SIR uproar in Rajya Sabha
Tezpur University’s alleged breakdown drew Ajit Kumar Bhuyan’s alarm, with Birendra Baishya spotlighting 6 communities’ ST plea as ‘historically justified’
Asom Gana Parishad MP, Birendra Prasad Baishya (left) and Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM) president, Ajit Kumar Bhuyan in Rajya Sabha on December 2 (Photo: Sansad TV/ Youtube)
New Delhi, Dec 2: The ongoing turmoil at Tezpur University and the long-standing demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for six Assam communities cut through the din in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, even as Opposition members persisted with their call for an immediate debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Raising the Tezpur University crisis during Zero Hour, Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM) president and Independent MP Ajit Kumar Bhuyan said the premier Central institution was facing an “alarming administrative breakdown”.
Bhuyan alleged that irregularities and corruption-related claims had surfaced publicly, while the Vice-Chancellor of the Central University had been absent from campus for over "two months".
“No sincere attempt has been made to resolve the impasse,” he said, warning that the administrative vacuum had destabilised academic life.
“The VC cannot escape from his responsibilities by keeping away from the campus. For one individual, the highest temple of learning cannot be allowed to suffer,” he added, urging the Union Education Ministry to intervene and restore normalcy.
The Central University, founded in 1994 as a key outcome of the Assam Accord, has been rocked by protests and dharnas for nearly two months.
Taking the floor next, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) MP Birendra Prasad Baishya shifted focus to the demand for ST status for six communities, namely Tai Ahom, Moran, Motok, Koch, Chutiya and the Tea Tribe (Adivasi) community. Calling the demand “historically justified”, he cited British-era records to back the claim.
“In 1868, the British government described these groups as tribal communities in a gazette notification. Even the Simon Commission recommended granting them tribal status,” Baishya told the House.
Reaffirming his party’s longstanding support, he said the demands of these indigenous groups were “genuine”, and urged the Centre to act.
The issue has triggered renewed tensions in Assam, where both supporters and opponents of the proposal have taken to the streets in recent weeks.
On Monday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma defended the Group of Ministers’ report on the matter, asserting that it contains nothing that could “offend” any section of society.
Even as these issues were aired, the House remained on edge amid the Opposition’s push for a discussion on SIR, with repeated interruptions punctuating the session.