In a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday, Lok Shakti Abhijan president Prafulla Samantara demanded inclusion of nine tribes of Odisha such as Jhodia, Konda Reddy, Kui kandha, Dhurava, Dhurua, Durua, Odia Kandha, Paharia Kandha in the ST list of the Centre.
The Jhodia community was in the ST list but got derecognised after 1997. No action so far been taken by the Union Government though the Odisha Governments has been writing to the Centre for last 20 years and the Chief Minister himself has written to the Government of India in 2012 in this regard, he alleged.
The Jhodias who live in the undivided Koraput district, especially in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, once boycotted the panchayat elections demandingr ST status, but their pleading has not been heeded so far.
Samantara further alleged that though the Modi Government has recognised 12 tribal communities of mainly BJP-ruled States as ST since 2019, it has not done any favour for the tribes of Odisha.
He urged the Chief Minister to influence the Centre in this regard as the BJD has been supporting the Union Government in critical issues in Parliament. He also urged Union Minister Pradhan to act in the matter as he belongs to Odisha.