NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Friday passed a bill to include certain communities in four newly created districts of Uttar Pradesh in the Scheduled Tribes list. The bill, which was approved by voice vote by the Lower House, amends the Scheduled Tribes Order to recognise Gond community in Chandauli, Kushinagar, Sant Kabir Nagar and Sant Ravidas Nagar.
Tabling the Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said the Narendra Modi government is committed to the welfare of tribals and has been increasing the budget allocations for the welfare of tribals.
"The Modi government is committed to the welfare of tribals and this bill is just a way forward," Munda said, adding that the government was coming up with different bills for reservation as the list of such tribes is different in different states and the issues ought to be deliberated in Parliament.
Rejecting the Opposition charge of politicising the issue, the minister said that bill provides for welfare of tribals in Uttar Pradesh where the elections have already been completed. "This is not linked with elections," he added.
Participating in the debate, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the government should come up with a comprehensive bill for reservation of SCs instead of working in a piecemeal manner. Similar issue was raised by NK Premachandran (RSP).
BJP MP from Madhya Pradesh Guman Singh Damor said some tribals who are very poor and uneducated are being converted by offering inducements. These people are getting converted for inducements and due to this our tribal culture is being "destroyed", he said.
Speaking before Damor, Congress MP from Odisha Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka said his party supports the bill and welcomes the necessary steps by the government. "Now they talk of conversion, the Hindu marriage act is not applicable to tribals. A tribal who converts to Christianity is being attacked... they want to do away with reservation, have given away land to industrialists," he said.
(With agency inputs)