RAIPUR: With the support of tribals seen as crucial by political parties, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday asserted that the deciding factor behind creating a separate state of Chhattisgarh by the then
Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was done keeping in mind the welfare of the tribal communities and giving them their due rights.
Addressing a public meeting at tribal-dominated Kanker district, about 150 km south of Raipur, Singh said, “Adivasis left behind by hundreds of years needed to be taken along on the path of development and growth. For this very reason, the Jharkhand state too was carved out. Congress has ruled the country for a very long time but never created any state intended for the welfare of tribal communities. It’s the BJP that also created a separate ministry of tribal welfare”.
“Have you ever thought that a daughter from a tribal community can reach the highest constitutional post to become the President. The Modi government for the first time in the history of India earmarked separate budgetary allocation of Rs 90,000 crore for the development of tribal communities.