Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday accused the Modi government of taking away the rights of tribals over water, forest and land.
Ramesh told this to the media here as party leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra entered the Marathwada region.
He said Birsa Munda, the leader of the tribals, fought a great struggle against the British for the rights and authority of the tribals. Today is the 122nd birth anniversary of Munda but tribals are not allowed to get their rights.
The Congress government had taken decisions in the interest of the tribals. But laws like the Forest Rights Act 2006 and Land Acquisition Act 2013 have been weakened since the Modi government came in power, he said.
Work is on to put tribal land in the hands of big industrialists, he alleged.
He said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh called tribals forest dwellers, not tribals. The Modi government is forcibly taking all the tribal lands and giving them to the industrialists.
The Congress handed over the control of bamboo trade to the Gram Sabha in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district. But the BJP government reversed this decision and again gave this authority to the Forest Department, he said.
