Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Madhya Pradesh assembly and Congress leader Umang Singhar on Friday extended greetings to tribal people of the state and country on the occasion of International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples.
The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, also known as World Tribal Day, is observed on August 9 every year to raise awareness and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population.
“On the occasion of World Tribal Day, I would like to extend my greetings to the tribal people of the state and the country. Indeed, it is a proud day for the tribal society, who struggled for water, forest and land to save this world,” Singhar told ANI.
Meanwhile, the Congress leader also took a potshot at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying that the saffron party was “oppressing the tribal people.”
“The way BJP is oppressing the tribal; the way they did not give leave to celebrate World Tribal Day; the government-administration is telling everyone not to go to such programs and not to celebrate. Why this politics of pressure on the tribal people? Are the tribal people not the original inhabitants, do they (BJP) not want to bring the tribal people into the mainstream of the state and the country? The way BJP is working, I want to say that BJP is biting the tribals like a poisonous snake, we have to save them,” Singhar added.
Earlier, veteran Congress leader and former CM Kamal Nath also raised the issue about declaring a holiday on August 9.
“You all know that when there was a Congress government in the state, August 9 was declared a holiday for World Tribal Day. Later the Bharatiya Janata Party government abolished this holiday. In a letter written on July 25, 2024, I had demanded Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to declare this holiday. But the Chief Minister did not pay any attention to this,” Nath wrote on X on August 8.
“The anti-tribal face of the Bharatiya Janata Party government of Madhya Pradesh has once again come to the fore. August 9 is celebrated as World Tribal Day, but despite repeated requests, the Madhya Pradesh government has not restored the public holiday of World Tribal Day. Madhya Pradesh is already number one in tribal atrocities. The BJP is completely careless towards the protection of tribal rights. And now by refusing to give a holiday on World Tribal Day, the BJP has officially stamped its behaviour,” he further wrote. (ANI)