MP: Tribal group 'JAYS' to contest the Assembly elections
(Sourced from PTI)
A tribal group in Madhya Pradesh has said it will contest the year-end Assembly elections to form a tribal government in the state. Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti (JAYS) started as a group on Facebook in 2012. Six years on, it has around 15 lakh members in 10 states, including Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha, Hiralal Alawa, the founder of JAYS, claimed.
Alawa worked as a doctor at AIIMS in New Delhi till 2016. He then returned to Dhar district, his hometown, to take the fight for the rights of tribal people to the next level. "We are uniting the tribal populations in 10 states where scheduled areas have been declared under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution," he said.
"We're demanding proper implementation of the Fifth Schedule and the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act and that the benefits of the Forest Act be extended to tribal people," Alawa said. The Fifth Schedule under Article 244 (1) of the Constitution defines scheduled areas. The purpose of such areas is to preserve the tribal autonomy and economic empowerment to ensure social and political justice.
There are 47 leaders representing tribal populations in Parliament and around 600 tribal legislators in State assemblies, but they have been ineffective in highlighting the issues of their people. The tribal MPs and MLAs are busy spreading their party's propaganda, Alawa alleged.
"A large number of tribal children are dying due to malnutrition. Scores of people are being displaced from their areas. The government has failed to provide electricity and drinking water in tribal villages," Alawa alleged. "Tribal children don't have access to education and healthcare. Development funds don't reach such areas due to corruption. There is no employment even under the MGNREGA scheme," he rued.
Alawa said a JAYS delegation met the CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan on August 3 and submitted a 25-point charter of demands, but Chauhan did nothing. The activist said that the JAYS is ready to give support to any party willing to work for tribals.
Alawa said that the Congress is in talks with the JAYS and the group may extend support to the party. The BJP, however, does not consider the JAYS a challenge and seems more worried about the ongoing protests by upper caste OBC groups. There is a perception that the BJP gets its maximum votes from upper castes and OBC blocs, a BJP leader said.
On the issues of tribals, BJP's State Unit Chief Rakesh Singh said, "Our government is moving ahead taking every section of society along. We're working for everyone." Asked about the upper caste OBC protests, he said, "It is a sensitive issue and shouldn't be politicized."
