Nahan (Himachal): Leader of Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday lashed out at the state's Congress government for not implementing the Hatti tribal status law.
Interacting with reporters at Poanta Sahib in Sirmaur district, Thakur alleged that the state government is not implementing the constitutional amendment that accords tribal status to about three lakh people from the Hatti community in the district's Transgiri area.
People from the community have been protesting for the past four months to demand implementation of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Act, 2023.
'It is unfortunate that the state's Congress government is doing politics on the Hatti issue, which should be looked at by rising above politics as it is directly linked with the careers of lakhs of Hatti youngsters,' Thakur, a former Himachal Pradesh chief minister, said.
The senior BJP leader also alleged that the state government is trying to raise unnecessary questions on the law.
Thakur claimed he had discussed the issue with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and said there is no technical glitch in the law.
The state government is unnecessarily writing to the Centre just to create false narratives, he said.
It has been sitting on the law for the past four months and not issuing tribal certificates to eligible youngsters, denying them all benefits under it, Thakur asserted.
He also alleged that the Congress is trying to divide the community by unnecessarily raising caste issues for 'petty political gains'.
Even the high court has clarified that there is no technical glitch in the law and recently allowed four Hatti students to appear as tribal candidates in competitive examinations, Thakur said.
The law allows members of the Hatti community to be entitled to all benefits provided to Scheduled Tribes, especially reservation in educational institutions and government jobs.
The gazette notification for the law was issued by President Droupadi Murmu on August 4 after the constitutional amendment was passed by Parliament.
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