In first Cabinet meeting, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren decides to form panel to study 'plight' of Assam's tea tribes

Ranchi: Hours after JMM leader Hemant Soren was sworn in as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand, his government on Thursday approved the formation of an all-party panel to study the plight of the "marginalised" tea tribes in Assam.

The decision taken in the first cabinet meeting of the Soren government came against the backdrop of the poll battle between the JMM-led coalition and NDA, in which Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma repeatedly raised the issue of the "predicament" of Jharkhand's tribal community due to alleged large-scale infiltration of Muslims from Bangladesh.

Sarma was the BJP's election co-in-charge for Jharkhand.

"In Assam, tribes from Jharkhand are being marginalised. A large number of original inhabitants of Jharkhand are residing there. We have decided that an all-party panel will study the ground situation there. The panel will submit its report to the Jharkhand government," Soren said while briefing the media on the decisions of his first Cabinet meeting.

Though the CM said the decision was taken at the 'Cabinet meeting', no minister took oath during the day. A statement issued by the Chief Minister's Secretariat later also said that the decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting.

Soren had raised the issue of the tea tribes in Assam earlier also and now, after winning the elections, he decided to form the panel which is viewed as taking the fight to Sarma's turf.

The JMM-led alliance last week stormed to power in Jharkhand for the second time in a row, securing 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, while the BJP-headed NDA managed 24 seats.

In September, he wrote to Sarma claiming the marginalisation of tea tribes from Jharkhand there despite their significant contributions to the economy.

He had said in the letter: "Tribals from Jharkhand were taken to other places such as Assam and Andaman and Nicobar by the British. Their number is about 15 to 20 lakh and they are fighting for their rights. It is known that tribals are working in Assam tea gardens but they have not been given ST status so far and are debarred from the welfare schemes meant for them." He had appealed to all original inhabitants of Jharkhand in Assam to return.

A cabinet decision was taken in October to form a committee to study this problem under the Minister for Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste, Minority and Backward Class Welfare Department.

Tea tribes of Jharkhand origin in Assam have the status of Other Backward Class and are debarred from welfare measures meant for tribals such as educational scholarships, housing subsidies and healthcare facilities, he had said.

In his letter to Sarma on September 25, Soren had expressed grave concern about the community's situation and advocated for their recognition as STs.