Lok Sabha clears Bill to include Hattee community in ST list of Himachal Pradesh

Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda moved a motion to have the Bill passed

Lok Sabha on Friday passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022 to include the Hattee community in the Trans-Giri region of Sirmaur district in Himachal Pradesh in the Scheduled Tribes list of the State after Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda moved a motion to have the Bill passed.

The Minister moved the motion after his concluding remarks on the discussion on the Bill, which had gone on for two days. Mr. Munda said the Hattee people had been deprived of the ST status for decades, despite their family members living across the border in Uttarakhand being categorised as such.

He said the Central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been focussing on bringing justice to such communities which have been deprived of the status for decades, and cited the example of including Narikoravan and Kurivikkaran tribes in the ST list of Tamil Nadu.

He said the government’s intention was to bring development to those living in the remotest parts of the country and that it was not for “vote politics”.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has consistently promised in election manifestos to include the Hattee community in the ST list, including in that of the recent Assembly election, where it lost the State to the Indian National Congress (INC).

The Union Cabinet had announced its approval for the addition just weeks before the Himachal Pradesh poll dates were announced. Interestingly, the BJP won three of the five Assembly seats in Sirmaur district this election.

The Bill received support from across party lines during the discussion and was passed in the Lower House through a voice vote.