Gaurav Gogoi slams Assam govt over 'brutal assault' on Koch-Rajbongshi students seeking ST status

Guwahati, Sep 11 (PTI) The people of Assam are raising their voices against non-inclusion of five communities in the ST list and instead of listening to them the police have brutally assaulted the protesting students, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said on Thursday.

Strongly condemning the "brutal assault" on Koch-Rajbongshi students in Golakganj, Gogoi also said that the students were "peacefully voicing" their rightful demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

"This shameful incident exposes the Assam Government's disregard for the rights and dignity of indigenous communities. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's indifference towards indigenous people & youth stands exposed. The youth of Assam deserve dignity, dialogue, and opportunity, not suppression and neglect," he said in a post on 'X'.

In an appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress deputy leader in Lok Sabha claimed Modi had promised during the 2014 Lok Sabha that the Ahom, Moran, Matak, Aadivasi Tea Tribe, Chutia, and Koch-Rajbongshi communities would be granted Scheduled Tribe status within six months.

"Ten years have passed, yet that promise remains unfulfilled," he said in another post.

Gogoi, who is also the president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, said today, the people of Assam are raising their voices in protest but instead of listening to them, the Assam police have "brutally assaulted" the Koch-Rajbongshi students in Golokganj.

"Now the Home Department should be immediately removed from the Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Even in Tinsukia, thousands of Moran community members are marching on streets for their ST status," he added in the post.

The Congress leader in the post said that the youth of Assam are on the streets and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that during his visit to the state on September 13-14, there shall no more be false promises but something that results in concrete action. PTI ACB ACB OZ OZ