Representatives of 11 Gorkha communities from West Bengal and 12 from Sikkim met in Siliguri on Sunday under Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang Golay’s leadership to discuss the strategy to press for the demand for the inclusion of around two dozen Gorkha sub-tribes on the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list.
“A team for the tribal status...has been formed with five members each from Sikkim and West Bengal. The joint team would now lead the movement and draw the future strategies,” Golay said.
Members of Parliament Raju Bista of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indra Hang Subba, and DT Lepcha were among those who attended the meeting on Sunday.
Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP promised ST status to 11 West Bengal Gorkha communities left out of the ST list.
Bista said political will was needed to fulfil the demand for inclusion on the ST list. “The languages of the political party and the government of India are different. We are exerting pressure both on the BJP and the government. If the government does not understand, we will start marching from Darjeeling to Sikkim,” said Bista.
Union minister Jual Oram told Parliament that the registrar general of India (RGI) has not considered the Sikkim government’s proposal to grant tribal status to 12 communities in the Himalayan state. “RGI has replied that the issue has already been examined by them and not considered for recommendation,” Oram said in reply to a question from Lepcha.
{{/usCountry}}Union minister Jual Oram told Parliament that the registrar general of India (RGI) has not considered the Sikkim government’s proposal to grant tribal status to 12 communities in the Himalayan state. “RGI has replied that the issue has already been examined by them and not considered for recommendation,” Oram said in reply to a question from Lepcha.
{{/usCountry}}In a reply to a query under the Right To Information Act, the RGI said it could not pursue the West Bengal government’s recommendation in 2014 to grant the ST status to the 11 Gorkha communities.
The Union government has formed three committees since 2016 to look into the West Bengal government’s proposal to grant tribal status to the 11 communities.