PM Narendra Modi targets Congress over plight of tribals

The Central government is celebrating November 15, the birth anniversary of revered tribal icon Birsa Munda as 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas'

With an eye on regaining the support of tribal voters, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched a major outreach effort by lauding their contribution to nation-building and hitting out at the Congress for “neglecting” them for years.

Modi received a warm welcome in Bhopal and BJP utilised the opportunity to showcase the acceptability of the law against triple talaq with a large number of burqa-clad women lining up to greet him.

The Prime Minister launched the first-ever Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas (Tribal Pride Day) celebrations on the birth anniversary of tribal icon Birsa Munda. He also declared that the Tribal Pride Day will be celebrated like Gandhi Jayanti, Sardar Patel Jayanti and Ambedkar Jayanti.

Also read: PM inaugurates memorial in Birsa Munda's honour in Ranchi

“Those who ran governments in the past did not give priority to them. The country's 10% (tribal) population was neglected,” he said, in an apparent attack on the Congress.

“The country cannot forget the bravery of Gond queen Durgawati or the sacrifice of Rani Kamlapati,” he said at a rally near Bhopal after inaugurating the re-developed Rani Kamalapati Railway Station, previously known as Habibganj.

The Prime Minister also launched several initiatives targeted at the welfare of the tribal communities such as ‘Ration Aapke Gram' in Madhya Pradesh, genetic counselling cards to beneficiaries, marking the launch of the Madhya Pradesh Sickle Cell Mission and laying the foundation stone for 50 Eklavya Model Residential Schools across various states and UTs, including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tripura and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

BJP has sensed the declining support of tribals as Congress had won 31 out of the 47 assembly seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in Madhya Pradesh in the 2018 state elections.

The party has announced that it would aim to increase its vote share in Madhya Pradesh by 10% in the 2023 assembly elections and launched initiatives to woo SC and ST communities.

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