Rajya Sabha passes bill to include Gond community in ST category in UP

The amendment seeks a revision of the lists of SC and STs in Uttar Pradesh. The bill will include the ‘Gond community’ in four districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Sant Kabir Nagar, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Kushinagar and Chandauli to the ST list

The Rajya Sabha (RS) on Wednesday passed the Constitution (scheduled castes and scheduled tribes) Orders (second amendment) Bill, 2022, which seeks to include tribal communities in the ST category in parts of Uttar Pradesh.

(Representative Photo)

The bill was passed by a voice vote after it was introduced by tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda on Tuesday here. After the bill was passed in the upper house, Lok Sabha held a discussion till the House was adjourned at the end of the day. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in April this year.

The amendment seeks a revision of the lists of SC and STs in Uttar Pradesh. The bill will include the ‘Gond community’ in four districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Sant Kabir Nagar, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Kushinagar and Chandauli to the ST list.

After the bill was passed, Munda praised the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their efforts asserting that the tribals were ignored for years by previous governments.

“We have seen that tribals have been ignored for years but the government led by PM Modi is working to change that,” the tribal minister said.

Munda said that the state must honour the contributions of the members of the community, especially those who have fought against British rule in India and helped to overthrow the colonial power.

Notably, the union government is set to honour 75 tribal warriors, including men and women to mark 75 years of independence, who fought against Britishers and other invading armies. The list also includes the names of Thalakkal Chanthu, Tirot Singh, Sela and Nura, HT reported in August.

Welcoming the step taken by the centre, National Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule said that the government should come up with a comprehensive bill to include all the pending demands from various communities.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Sule said, “There has been a longstanding demand from Maharashtra to include the Dhangar community in the (scheduled) tribe list. Similarly, various communities have been asking for a reservation for a long time.”

“My request to the central government is that if you can do it for Tamil Nadu, then why are you not doing it for Maharashtra? Instead of a piecemeal approach, the government should include the demands of all the communities and bring a comprehensive bill,” she added.