ST status: Pro-,anti- forces call Assam Bandh

A conglomerate of tribal bodies in Assam has called a 12-hour bandh on Wednesday to protest a bill that seeks to grant scheduled tribe status to six ethnic groups of the state.

The Coordination Committee of the Tribal Organisations of Assam (CCTOA) believed that "The central and state governments have hatched a plot to eliminate the genuine tribals of the state,"

All Assam Koch Rajbongshi Sanmilani has also called a 12-hour Assam bandh from dawn to dusk on the same day, accusing the Centre of adopting 'delaying tactics' to stave off the growing chorus in demand of granting schedule tribe (ST) status to six communities of the state, including Koch Rajbongshis.