Shah speaks for tribals on blog

‘Modi govt. will ensure their self-rule’

Signalling a renewed outreach to tribal communities, who are present in large numbers in 14 districts in his home State of Gujarat, BJP president Amit Shah on Friday asserted that the time had come for them to attain “self-rule” under the Modi government after years of what he termed the previous governments’ emphasis on “pushpanjali” or lip service to that ideal.

He wrote this in a blog posted on his website. “Tribals, like the rest of the country, got self-rule in 1947 when the British left, but the time has come for them to attain self-rule in the true sense and the BJP and the Modi government are fully committed in this direction,” he said.

Welfare scheme

“The Modi government, in 2014 started a welfare scheme for tribals, the Janjaati Kalyan Bandhu Yojana that undertook various development works in tribal dominated areas,” he said.

He mentioned the 2015 amendments to the Minerals and Mines (Development and Regulation) Act wherein 10% of all royalties from mining activities are deposited in a Mineral Development Fund and used for activities under the Prime Minister Mining Areas Development Fund.

“I’m happy to share that ₹9100 crore has been deposited in the MDF and is being used for the development of tribals living in mineral-rich areas,” he said.

A scheme to commemorate freedom fighters from tribal communities by developing their native villages has also been announced in Jharkhand, where Mr. Shah recently paid homage to freedom fighter Birsa Munda. Coming to his home State of Gujarat, Mr. Shah said that 14.75% of the State’s Budget went towards the development activities of tribal communities.

“It is due to the efforts of BJP governments that Gujarat’s tribal areas are not behind other regions in any criterion of development.”

Gujarat goes to the polls this year.

“Tribals had been left behind in development as they lived in remote areas and also due to apathy of governments which exploited mines and minerals but did not work to develop those places,” he added. He mentioned that the Vajpayee-led NDA government had set up a special Ministry to look into tribal affairs.