By IANS
Ranchi : The six Jharkhand communities fighting for scheduled tribe (ST) status have reacted sharply to the central government's decision to return the bill regarding their inclusion into the ST list back to the state.
The Social Justice and Empowerment and Tribal Welfare ministries of the central government returned the bill this month, Jharkhand government sources said.
The bill had recommended inclusion of the Kurmi, Biar, Teli, Mahto, Khatori and Ghatwar communities into the ST category.
The ministries reportedly asked the Jharkhand government to do further research on these communities with the help of the Tribal Research Institute (TRI) here, they said.
The previous Arjun Munda government had sent the bill regarding the inclusion of the communities into ST category in December 2004 after it was passed by the state assembly.
The decision of the central government sparked protests and criticism across the state. Kurmi and Mahto youths burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here Thursday.
"The central government's motive is not clear. If they wanted to clear the bill then they could have passed the bill in the parliament instead of sending back for research work," said Jaleshwar Mahto, a Janata Dal-United legislator.
"The state government should expedite the research work and send the report to the central government so that these castes are included into the ST category. There is proof that the Kurmis and Mahtos were in ST list before 1950," former home minister and All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) chief Sudesh Mahto said.
"The state government has sought suggestion from TRI. The Kurmi demand is long standing and the state government will look into the matter taking the sentiment of each community into consideration," Deputy Chief Minister Sudhir Mahto said supporting the views of the communities.
Criticising the Congress for the return of the bill, Shailendra Mahto, convenor of Jharkhand Kurmi Sanghrash Samittee said, "Congress is playing politics over the issue. The central government kept the bill pending for three years and now it has sent it back".
"We will soon convene a meeting of Kurmi leaders and decide on the future agitation and how to put pressure on both the state and central government to push the bill," he said.
These communities have been demanding their inclusion into the ST category for a long time and the demand got further momentum after Jharkhand was carved out from Bihar in 2000.
They also claim that they were included in the ST list in 1913 but their names were deleted from the ST list in 1950.