Guwahati — Former Adivasi student leader Raphael Kujur who joined the Congress recently, took charge as the chairman of the newly constituted Adivasi Development Council, 9 February.
Rimish Linda also took oath of office as vice-chairman of the council. Kujur was the president of All Adivasi Students’ Association (AASA) before joining the Congress.
Other tribal leaders who took oath are Loknath Upadhaya and Ganga Paudal chairman and vice chairman of the Gorkha Development Council, Deepak Deka and Khanin Deka chairman and vice chairman of the Sarania Kachari Development Council, and Kartik Sinha chairman of the Bishnupriya Manipuri Development Council.
Sources said the Assam Forest Minister Atuwa Munda played a key role in getting Kujur on board. The move was a part of the Congress party’s efforts to reach out to the Adivasi community, which had been drifting away from it, before this year’s high-stake Assembly polls where it faces its toughest challenge from the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) and the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF).
There are some 50 lakh Adivasi voters spread out in at least 36 of the 126 Assembly seats.
Kujur 42, who hails from Dibrugarh district in Assam, said he joined the ruling Congress along with 51 AASA leaders from nine districts cited the Congress’s inclusive nature and vision for welfare of the poor as the reasons for joining the party.
“We have seen what the BJP has done since coming to power last year. The Congress is not communal. Everybody feels secure with the Congress,” he said.
Adivasis were brought by the British from Bihar, Odisha and Bengal to work in the tea gardens of Assam and more than 70 lakh Adivasis are still associated with the gardens. The community has been demanding Scheduled Tribe status since 1967 to protection their identity and special measures to improve their condition.
Other Adivasi outfits in the state include Adivasi Cobra Military of Assam, Adivasi People’s Army, All Adivasi National Liberation Army, and Santhal Tiger Force.