Trouble for Congress ahead of panchayat polls

Guwahati, Apr 27 (UNI) Ahead of the coming panchayat elections in Asom, the state Congress has found itself in a piquant situation following resentment brewing among the tea growers over the government's failure to grant them ST status.

A delegation of as many as 11 organisations of the tea and adivasi community will meet the prime minister and other parliamentarians sometime in May in yet another bid to press for their demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

Congress Tea Cell convener Bhagirath Karan said ST status had been a long-standing demand of the tea and adivasi community.

''Now that the Congress is ruling both at the state and the Centre, it is easier for the government to grant ST status to the community. But the state government is soft-peddling on the issue,'' Mr Karan said.

He said if the communities were granted ST status, it would be easier for the Congress to sail through the panchayat elections.

The tea community, with a population of nearly 70 lakh, comprises a good chunk of the Congress vote bank in the state.

However, Mr Karan said, resentment had been brewing among the community, especially among the youth, in the wake of the 'casual attitude' of the state government towards the issue.

''The state government has failed to create enough pressure on the Centre. It washed its hands off after submitting a report on the matter sought by the Central government,'' he added.

A number of senior Congress leaders like former Pradesh Congress president Pawan Singh Ghatowar, MLA Raju Sahu and Etwa Munda belong to the tea community and all have been instrumental in garnering support for the cause.

Over 15,000 members of the tea community had participated in a rally organised at the state capital in support of the demand earlier this month.

The Centre had rejected the first report of the state government on the issue of ST status for the community on the ground that it fell short of certain criterion.

UNI