Raipur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnudeo Sai on Sunday accused the Congress of treating the tribal community merely as a vote bank during its long rule at the Centre and in states over the past 79 years of Independence.
Dismissing recent remarks by opposition leaders as “frivolous,” Sai stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has genuinely worked for the welfare and overall development of tribal communities. He noted that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee established a separate Ministry of Tribal Affairs to ensure focused growth for the community.
Highlighting ongoing central initiatives, the Chief Minister said the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan covers 6,691 villages in Chhattisgarh. He also pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the PM JANMAN scheme specifically for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). In Chhattisgarh, five such tribal groups have a combined population of around 3.2 lakh, he said.
Challenging Congress leaders to visit tribal settlements to witness the changes on the ground, Sai asserted that concrete work is underway to provide housing, solar-powered electricity, tap water connections, and ration cards to tribal households.
