The Congress party has said the Governor in the State possessed constitutional rights to reject any amendment in CNT/SPT Acts, and the party was going to request the supreme custodian of tribal rights to protect it.
Former Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Dr Rameshwar Oraon said citing AV Thakkar, popularly known as Thakkar Bapa, that the situation over the acts these days was well presumed decades ago, hence the Governor was given rights to foil any such move which tried to destroy the basic rights of tribals by any of the government in future.
Quoting Chairman of ‘Advisory Committee on Rights of Citizens, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas’ Thakkar Bapa, Oraon said, “The Special Tenancy laws in Chhota Nagpur, the Santhal Parganas, are the bulwark of the backward peoples. The legislature of the future would have the power to amend, modify or even repeal those laws and the only safeguard against legislative action detrimental to the interests of backward peoples is the power of the Governor to refuse assent…”. He said that this is why the Party was preparing to go to the Governor Droupadi Murmu to request her to use her rights.
Meanwhile, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dr. Pradeep Balmuchu said that the State government played a dirty game of using numbers in the assembly to get acts passed. “It was not only unethical but also unconstitutional,” he maintained.
He also admitted that the internal differences between State Congress President Sukhdev Bhagat and some MlAs were not appreciable. “It might harm the process of uniting the Party and the opposition as a whole against alleged wrong-doings of the government in CNT/SPT Acts amendment case,” he added.
Balmuchu said that the central leadership was concerned over internal differences of the Party in the State where the purpose of party interests was probably not being served the way it could have been. Though he didn’t hint directly that the central leadership was thinking of any reshuffle of guards at State level, he said that he believed things shouldn’t be dragged to where it has been brought.The party also flayed the Union government for demonetization, saying that the anti-people move took over 100 lives across the country. At the same time, he also accused the State government saying that the law and order situation in Jharkhand was at its all-time low, with girls and families not being safe in their homes.