Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly Naveen Patnaik on Friday demanded inclusion of 169 communities in the ST list of the state.
The former Chief Minister also sought quick steps for the inclusion of several tribal languages in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
Naveen made the demands while attending a function to observe International Day of the World’s Indigenous People at Sankha Bhawan, the BJD headquarters in Bhubaneswar.
“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,” he said while addressing the gathering
Naveen said the previous BJD government had also repeatedly requested the Centre for inclusion of various tribal languages like Ho, Mundari, Bhumij, Saura and others in the 8th schedule of our Constitution.
“I hope that the Union Government will take appropriate steps in this regard soon” he said, adding that tribals constitute nearly 25 per cent of Odisha’s population.
The BJD chief said that 64 major tribes and 13 particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTG) 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 (BJD) 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,” Naveen said.
Stating that BJD will continue to work for the development of tribals and protecting their special identity, the former CM said that his government had set up a large number of hostels for tribal students in different residential schools.
