BJP chose Droupadi Murmu as President nominee only to gain tribal votes: Medha Patkar
The Hindu
Wondering what could Draupadi Murmu who could not bring electricity to her native village, or Yashwant Sinha, the Presidential nominee of major Opposition parties and an economist, could do after being elected, Ms. Patkar claimed that a President becomes the rubber stamp of the ruling party.
Social activist Medha Patkar believes that the BJP has fielded tribal leader Draupadi Murmu as the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) Presidential candidate only because the community forms a major part of the vote bank but the party is not pro-Adivasi.
Wondering what could Draupadi Murmu who could not bring electricity to her native village, or Yashwant Sinha, the Presidential nominee of major Opposition parties and an economist, could do after being elected, Ms. Patkar claimed that a President becomes the rubber stamp of the ruling party.
"They [the BJP] want a tribal person like her and celebrate Birsa Munda Jayanti because they know that Adivasis form a major part of the vote bank in several States such as Madhya Pradesh. They cannot claim to be pro-Advasi by not granting them forest rights and planning to hand over forests to the corporates," Ms. Patkar told PTI in a telephone interview.
Referring to the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, to celebrate the birth anniversary of revered tribal leader and freedom fighter Birsa Munda in November last year, she claimed that there were incidents of violence against tribal people at that time.
"Modi-ji went to Bhopal and spent more than ₹30 crore for a one-day function. At the same time, incidents of lynching of tribal people had taken place in Madhya Pradesh itself," said Ms. Patkar, who has been fighting for the cause of tribal communities.
The founder member of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) also alleged that the BJP has not implemented laws such as Jawaharlal Nehru's Tribal Panchsheel, Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act and Forest Rights Act.
The Tribal Panchsheel was the guiding principle to formulate policies for the indigenous communities of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.