Taking a dig at the Tribal Advisory Council proposal on Friday to allow sale and purchase of land covered under CNT and SPT Acts, Opposition leader Hemant Soren on Saturday said the Government is taking populist measures to attract tribal, dalit and minority voters in the State. He said that the government is away from development agenda and now in a bid to attract the voters it is doing drama of making changes in land laws.
Talking to mediapersons on the occasion of joining of new members from Seraikela at his residence, the JMM executive president said that the BJP has been a huge failure in securing rights of the subjugated class in the nation in the State. He said that the decisions the government is taking now is purely with a political agenda and is not going to help the people in any way.
“There is an environment of total anarchy in the State as the Government has compromised with the image of Jharkhand. It is now targeting social workers, writers and artists calling them traitors. It is also trying its best to snatch the rights of poor farmers, traibals, backward classes and minorities. The people of the State will take its revenge in the political battle ahead,” he said.
“They have been consistently trying to take away the rights of the people and after public outcry they were forced to retreat,” said Soren giving example of the recent bill on atrocities Against SC and ST presented in the parliament. “They want spread communal hatred and what not. They want to come to power by any means they can,” he added.
On the issue of TAC decision to not allow reservation benefits to the people marrying a tribal woman, Hemant said that the party needs to study the proposal properly. However, he said that the Government is unfair to the people because it has been working on the instructions of BJP high command in Delhi.
Notably, the Tribal Advisory Council (TAC), has given its nod to the idea to prevent non-tribal persons taking benefits of reservation along with depriving the women from it. The decision would disqualify any tribal women marrying a non-tribal man and getting the benefits provided by the Constitution.
Besides, the similar decision would also be applicable for issuing caste certificates and land registries. “The TAC has given its recommendations to amend the reservation clause covering the STs of the State. Now no one from other caste marrying any tribal woman would be provided benefits of reservation and vice versa. Also, land cannot be purchased on his name treating him as tribal,” said Gangotri Kujur, Mandar MlA and a TAC member on Friday after the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Raghubar Das.
The decision is based on the practice adopted by the Odisha Government, which does not consider any tribal woman as tribal in the case of such marriage has taken place. Also, any woman has to mention the name of her husband into the application for caste certificate so that such cases can be pinpointed. “Earlier several women were taking benefits of reservation through the certificates issued bearing name of their fathers and not husbands. Now if such inter-caste marriage has taken place then the woman cannot take the undue benefit,” said the MlA.
