Raipur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has accused the Congress of treating tribals as a “vote bank”, asserting that the ruling BJP prioritised the welfare of the community.
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had established a separate ministry for the development of Scheduled Tribes during his tenure, Sai noted.
The BJP government had genuinely prioritised the welfare and development of tribals, the CM told reporters in Raipur on Wednesday, August 26.
“The Congress party has used the tribal community solely as a vote bank. If anyone has truly cared for the tribal community, it is the Bharatiya Janata Party government,” he said.
The tribal communities were benefiting from various welfare schemes of the Centre and the state government, including the PM-JANMAN scheme for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), the CM added.
However, All India Adivasi Congress national president Vikrant Bhuria hit back, alleging that the BJP government had neglected the tribal community.
He claimed that Sai, despite having received the tribal community’s support throughout his political career, had “denied their very existence” by not extending greetings to them on Tribal Day.
Bhuria, who was in Raipur to attend a meeting of the Adivasi Congress executive committee and Tribal Advisory Council at Rajiv Bhawan, demanded that the chief minister apologise to the tribal community.
On the issue of reservation, he said it was necessary until social, economic, educational and mental equality was achieved.
Reservation was introduced to address historical injustice and caste-based discrimination, he pointed out, arguing that it could not be abolished as long as such discrimination persisted.
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