NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill that seeks to include the Gond community in the Scheduled Tribes category in parts of Uttar Pradesh.
The Rajya Sabha passed by a voice vote the Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022, with some amendments.
The bill was introduced by Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda on Tuesday.
Replying to the discussion on the bill, Munda said the issue has been pending since 1980s and blamed the then Congress-led government for ignoring the plight of the community and denying them their constitutional rights through Schedule Tribes category.
Munda also moved amendments in the bill, which will again go to the Lok Sabha for its nod.
The bill was earlier passed by the Lok Sabha in April this year.
The bill seeks to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) (Uttar Pradesh) Order, 1967 (ST Order) and the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 (SC Order) with respect to its application to Uttar Pradesh.
It seeks to amend the Scheduled Castes order to exclude the Gond community as a Scheduled Caste in four districts of Uttar Pradesh: Chandauli, Kushinagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, and Sant Ravidas Nagar.
It seeks to amend the ST order to recognise the Gond community as a Scheduled Tribe in these four districts.
The minister said the Uttar Pradesh government had written a letter related to the Gond community on April 22, 1981 stating that on the basis of their lifestyle, culture and from every aspects, they exhibited characters of scheduled tribe.
He added that in those days, the Gond community was included under STs in other states.
The minister rued that the issue has remained unresolved till now with the people of the community unable to raise their voice at the Centre.
He also lamented that the then government did not implement the recommendations of the Lokur Committee for the uplift of tribals, keeping in mind their culture, lifestyle, closeness to nature and backwardness, and give them their constitutional rights.
As a result, he said the country is facing the issue of tribals being left behind in the growth and development witnessed by India.
The government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been working for the betterment of tribals in the last eight years and would continue to do so, Munda said.
Taking a dig at the Opposition over their attitude towards tribals, Munda said if they had cared, the first woman President from tribal community Droupadi Murmu would have been elected to the top constitutional post unanimously and now some of them have even started criticising her as well.