BJP ST Morcha To Urge ST Commission To Probe Sexual Exploitation Of Tribal Girls IN Odisha
16 June, Bhubaneswar
The BJP National ST Morcha president Phagun Singh Kulste Tuesday said the morcha will urge the ST commission to probe into the rising sexual atrocities on tribal girls in the Odisha government run Sevasharma schools.
Kulste, who was here to attend the two-day morcha National Executive Committee meeting, told mediapersons here that the incidence of sexual atrocity on tribal girls in the government run sevashram schools has significantly increased in the state.
He warned that strong action would be taken against the guilty involved in the crime.
The morcha president also alleged that and funds allocated under the Tribal Sub Plan for the development of tribals was being diverted in the state.
He expressed concern over the diversion of funds from the Tribal Sub Plan to other schemes and said action would be taken against the officials responsible for it.
Kulste extended his full support for the Land Acquisition Bill 2015 and said no land should be acquired in the tribal areas without the approval of the Gram Sabha.
He said in 2015 land acquisition bill the rights of tribals was kept intact and no effort was made to amend any constitutional Act to minimise the rights of the tribals, Pulste admitted that the ST Morcha of the party in Odisha was very weak and promised to strengthen the organisation in the coming days.
The Morcha, he said, had taken a pledge to work with sincerity and in a more organised way from the village level up to the state level.
Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Juel Oram criticised the state government for its failure to utilise the central funds for development of tribals.
He said the stipend money to be distributed to the tribal students had not been distributed since 2010-11.
The Tribal Advisory Committee headed by Chief Minister is not functioning properly and the tribal people were being deprived of the jobs reserved for them as the general caste people managed to get jobs by submitting false caste certificates.
The Union Minister said the matter came to limelight after he reviewed the performance of tribal development in Baripada, Rairangpur and other areas in the state recently.
He said he would soon review the tribal development work in Raygada, Koraput and Malkangiri areas.