Naveen seeks 169 communities in ST list

Bhubaneswar : Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly, Naveen Patnaik, on Friday demanded inclusion of 169 communities in the ST list of the State and several tribal languages in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.

Patnaik, the BJD president, made the demands while attending a function to observe International Day of the World’s Indigenous People at the party’s headquarters here.

Addressing a gathering, he said: “The BJD government had sent a proposal to include as many as 169 communities in the ST list of Odisha. It has been pending with the Centre since long.”

Patnaik said the BJD government had also repeatedly requested the Centre for inclusion of various tribal languages like Ho, Mundari, Bhumij, Saura and othersin the 8th schedule of our Constitution.

“I hope that the Union government will take appropriate steps in this regard soon” Patnaik said, adding that tribals constitute nearly 25 per cent of Odisha’s population. He said 64 major tribes and 13 particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) live in Odisha. Stating that the State government headed by him had taken several steps to protect the culture of the tribals, Patnaik said several institutions were named after prominent tribal leaders when he was at the helm of the State.

The Biju Janata Dal, which ruled the State for 24 years in a row, was defeated by the BJP earlier this year.“To protect tribal culture, the BJD government had formed a Special Development Council. It was new concept in the country,” Patnaik said.

The former chief minister said his government had set up a large number of hostels for tribal students in different residential schools. “We are proud of our tribal brothers and sisters. The BJD will continue its efforts for their development and protection of their unique identity,” he said.