New Delhi: Parliament on Tuesday passed a bill to include certain tribal communities in Karnataka in the Scheduled Tribe category.
The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed in Lok Sabha by voice vote on Tuesday, while Rajya Sabha has already approved it in the previous session.
It seeks to include Parivara and Talawara tribal communities in the ST category to ensure they get reservation and other benefits provided by the government.
Siddi tribes of Belagavi, Dharwad would also be included in the ST category apart from those living in Uttar Kannada districts.
The amendments have been made in the list of STs in Karnataka.
Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said the legislation has been brought in relation to one state and assured the members, many of whom sought inclusion of communities from there states into the Scheduled Tribes, that the government will take cognisance of their demands.
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This government has worked to bring the deprived sections of society into the mainstream, he added.
Arvind Sawant of Shiv Sena and Supriya Sule of the NCP demanded that dhangar community from Maharashtra be included in the ST.
Sawant’s reference to injustice to Marathis in Belgaum, which falls in Karnataka and has long been claimed by politicians from Maharashtra as well, triggered protests from members of the southern state.
Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda objected to it, saying the matter is pending in the Supreme Court.
D N V Snthilkumar of the DMK, Nishikant Dubey of the BJP, Anubhav Mohanty of the BJD and Manickam Tagore of the Congress raised the issue of inclusion of some communities from their respective states in the ST category and demanded a comprehensive bill.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of the Congress also said a comprehensive bill is required in the regard.
K Suresh (Cong) supported the Bill and asked the minister to consider increasing the reservation percentage of scheduled tribes.
He also made a plea to the minister to increase the tribal allocation fund.
Saugata Roy (TMC) was of the view that the process of inclusion of tribes should be made easier and the government should take steps in this regard.
He also accused the BJP of neglecting tribals and asked the party to give them due importance in its policies.
When President gives consent????