Congress dubs BJP government in Odisha as 'anti-tribal'

Bhubaneswar, Sep 16 (PTI) The Congress on Tuesday slammed the BJP-led 'double-engine' government in Odisha and at the Centre, calling them "anti-tribals".

It has been five months since 53,000 students in the state have not received pre-matric scholarship, the Congress alleged.

Addressing a press conference, Congress MLA Pabitra Saunta said that the chief minister of the state and the President of the country are tribals and from Odisha.

"We were hoping that now the tribals will get their justice, and their suffering will come to an end. But the reality is that the BJP government in the state is depriving tribal pre-matric students of getting their scholarships for the last five years, which is very surprising," he said.

This shows the "anti-tribal attitude" of the double-engine government of the Centre and the state, the Congress MLA alleged.

He demanded that the state government should immediately release the pre-matric scholarship for class 9 and 10 tribal students, as well as ST and OBC students.

Saunta said the Congress members would raise the issue in the assembly during the upcoming monsoon session if the demand was not fulfilled. PTI BBM BBM RG