Congress attacks BJP over MP tribals advertisement

Attacking the central government for forgetting to observe the World Tribal Day, a Congress MP on Tuesday also pointed out a mistake in an advertisement released by BJP in Madhya Pradesh on the occasion that spoke of Prime Minister Narendra Modi "eliminating" tribals.

Raising the issue in Lok Sabha during Zer Hour, Kantilal Bhuria, who represents the state's Ratlam constituency, said: "Action should be taken against all those whose photos appear in the advertisement. The government has also forgotten that today it is World Tribal Day."

The advertisement was issued for the Prime Minister's function in Jhabua constituency. Bhuria was criticised Modi for ignoring his request to take him along with him to participate in the function.

Responding on the issue, Home Minister Rajnath Singh stressed that the tribals have made huge contribution to Indian culture and heritage.

"I would look into the controversial advertisement. I haven't seen the advertisement," he said,

BJP MP Heena Gavit expressed concern over the backwardness of tribals in the country. "The government has formulated many schemes for the welfare of tribals but the overall socio-economic indicators with regard to the tribals give us a very depressing picture," said Gavit.

"The Human Development Index in all the tribal areas across the country is very low as compared to the national average.

"The literacy rate of the country today is 74 per cent but if we see of the tribals it is 59 per cent. It is very low in the states which have more tribal population like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Odisha, where we see a gap of literacy between the general population and the tribal from 18 per cent to 26 per cent," she added.

--IANS

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