Massive rally held in Assam''s Tinsukia over demand for Motok community''s ST status

Dibrugarh (Assam), Sep 28 (PTI) Thousands of members of the indigenous Motok community took out a massive torchlight procession at Sadiya in Assam's Tinsukia district on Sunday evening, demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and the upgradation of their autonomous council to the constitutionally protected Sixth Schedule framework.

Protesters hit the streets with banners, placards and raised their voices for "justice and recognition", and said the ST status was promised to them a decade ago.

"The rally centred on two critical demands -- ST status for the community and upgrading our autonomous council to the constitutionally protected Sixth Schedule framework," All Assam Motok Yuva Chatra Sanmilan (AAMYCS) general secretary Swaroop Gohain told PTI.

An estimated 30,000 people from the Motok community joined the torchlight rally in Sadiya, he claimed.

The long-awaited ST status was a key electoral promise made by the BJP during its 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledging to grant it to six indigenous Assamese communities.

Assam's Moran, Motok, Chutia, Tai-Ahom, Koch-Rajbongshi and Tea-Tribes communities have been demanding ST status for many years, while assurances for the reservation have regularly been given by many senior BJP leaders and ministers.

Apart from ST recognition, the protesters focused on securing greater autonomy.

They demanded elevation of the Motok Autonomous Council from its current statutory status to the Sixth Schedule area under the country's Constitution.

Gohain said, "Our patience after 10 years of waiting has been exhausted. We will intensify our agitation if the government continues to ignore our demands and pledge to sustain pressure on both state and central governments until our constitutional rights are secured." PTI TR COR TR BDC