Amid protests and a walkout by Opposition parties demanding a discussion on the attacks against tribals in Manipur, the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022 to include several communities from Chhattisgarh in the list of STs.
Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda, who piloted the Bill, said it will correct several anomalies in the Hindi and English spellings of many tribal groups and will help thousands of tribal people. Lok Sabha passed the Bill during the last Winter Session.
The Bill was brought in to add Bhuinya, Bhuiyan and Bhuyan communities as synonyms of Bharia, Bhumia, Bharia, to add three Devanagari versions of Pando community and Dhanuhar and Dhanuwar communities, to substitute Kond for Kondh in the list, to add Kisan community in entry 32 of the legislation, to include Saunra and Saonra communities in entry 41 and to add Binjhia community in new entry 43.
Govt doing its best
Mr. Munda said the bill will benefit about 72,000 tribal people in the State. “It is a small number. But it shows the sensitivity of the Centre towards welfare of tribals,” he said. He added that the Narendra Modi government is doing its best to resolve problems of tribals unlike the past governments. “In the past nine years, we have tried to work diligently for the welfare of the tribal communities whether it is Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura or Uttar Pradesh,” Mr. Munda said.
Members from ruling party alliance, YSRCP and BJD participated in the debate. S. Phangnon Konyak, the first woman member from Nagaland in the Upper House, presided over the voice vote on the Bill. She was recently nominated to the panel of Vice-Chairpersons by Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.
When the House met at 2 pm to take up legislative business, the Opposition protested and raised slogans demanding a statement by the Prime Minister on the violence in Manipur. Deputy Chairman Harivansh, however, took up the Bill for discussion. When ruling party members were speaking, Opposition members urged them to speak on Manipur too.
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge also tried to raise the Manipur issue. He said though he supports the Bill on ST status for several communities in Chattisgarh, the silence of the Prime Minister on the violence in Manipur must be condemned.
BJP members raised slogans when Mr. Kharge was speaking. The Opposition said Mr. Kharge’s mike was switched off and he was not allowed to make his points. The Opposition then staged a walkout. “Repeated obstruction at the instigation of none other than the Leader of the House himself and the insistence to pass Bills in the din led to a walkout by all INDIA MPs for the rest of the day,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter.
