E-Paper
RS member Satnam Sandhu seeks ST status for 7 communities in Punjab
Rajya Sabha member Satnam Singh Sandhu urged the Union government to grant ST status to several marginalized communities in Punjab during Parliament's Budget Session.
Rajya Sabha member Satnam Singh Sandhu on Thursday raised the issue of granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to Bazigar, Bauria tribe, Gadila community, Nat community, Sansi community, Barad community and Bengali communities during ‘Zero Hour’ in the ongoing Budget Session of the Parliament.
Speaking during the Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, Sandhu exhorted the Union government to grant ST status to backward classes and tribes that have been residing in Punjab, so that they can also avail the benefits of several central schemes aimed at empowering such communities.
“Union Government has taken several steps to empower people belonging to tribal communities and backward classes in the country. However, the backward tribes of Punjab have not been registered under Scheduled Tribes. Surprisingly, even as there are more than 40 scheduled tribes in Punjab not even a single tribe of Punjab has ever been recognised as a Scheduled Tribe till now. As a result, many people belonging to scheduled tribes have been deprived of benefits provided under several Central Government schemes,” Sandhu said.
Sandhu further said: “Apart from these seven communities, the Sikligar Sikh community which is also one such tribe has also been pushed to the margins.”
“I urge the union government that the benefits given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the backward tribes in the rest of the country must also be provided to people belonging to these communities living in Punjab,” Sandhu added.
