TNCC claims credit for inclusion of Narikuravas in ST list

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K S Alagiri on Thursday attempted to claim credit for the proposed inclusion of Narikuravas in the ST list and said that the legislative amendment was made to the 1950 Act for the current inclusion in 2013 during the UPA-II tenure.

Remarking that the BJP does not deserve to claim credit for the proposed inclusion, Alagiri, in a statement, said that it was a well-known truth that the amendment was made to include the Narikuravas in the ST list only during the UPA reign.

Pointing out that the amendment was moved by SC welfare and Panchayat Raj minister Kishore Chandra Diyo during the UPA tenure, Alagiri said that amendment gave hope to the Narikuravas and the number of communities in the ST list increased from 225 in 1960 to 700 now owing to the efforts made during the Congress led UPA government.

Referring to the letter written earlier by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to the Prime Minister in this regard, the TNCC chief said that the Congress party welcomes the decision of the union cabinet to amend the act to include the Narikuravas of the state in the ST list. Alleging that the amendment bill moved by the UPA was put to cold storage for eight years, Alagiri said that the incumbent government has included them in the ST list after several political parties and groups fought for the same.