Ranchi, May 20: Leading opposition party BJP’s decision of staying away from the Tribal Advisory Council (TAC) meeting to be held after over a year has led a political slugfest between ruling alliance and opposition.
Jharkhand Pradesh Congress spokesperson Rakesh Sinha on Tuesday accused BJP of disrespecting tribal identity and constitutional traditions.
He said that the BJP boycotting the meeting of the Tribal Advisory Council (TAC) called by the Jharkhand government shows the BJP’s tendency to ignore tribal interests and alleged that this is an old habit of the saffron party.
Rakesh Sinha further alleged that BJP, which had filed sedition cases against innocent tribals during the Pathalgadi movement of 2016-17, is today running away from the TAC meeting.
He alleged that during its rule, the BJP had tried to hand over the lands of tribals to corporate companies in the name of “land bank” and tried to weaken tribal rights by proposing amendment in the CNT/SPT Act.
“BJP should tell whether it is with tribal interests: By not participating in the TAC meeting, the BJP is once again trying to mislead the tribal society of Jharkhand. BJP should explain why it shies away from discussing the problems of the tribals,” Sinha said.
Significantly, BJP has decided to stay away from the first meeting of the Tribal Advisory Council (TAC) to be held on May 21 in Ranchi.
The party alleges that the state government is not protecting tribal interests and the process of appointment of TAC members has been bypassed.
Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi said that under the Fifth Schedule, the Governor has the right to appoint TAC members, but the current government has bypassed this process. On the other hand, BJP leaders led by Champai Soren have decided that they will not participate in the TAC meeting.
The TAC meeting is to be held on May 21 with Hemant Soren as chairperson includes 13 MLAs and two nominated members and also includes Babulal Marandi and Champai Soren.
