Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday said the tribal population of the northeast and other areas of the country will be kept out of the ambit of the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) so that they can live their lives "freely" according to their systems.
Speaking at an event organised by RSS-affiliate Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram here, he clarified the Union government's stand on the issue, saying that "some people create a bizarre atmosphere on social media these days and build a narrative" against the Centre.
Rijiju, however, did not mention anybody's name.
"Being a Union minister, I want to share the stand of our government. Our government and party (BJP) think about (bringing) a Uniform Civil Code in the country as per the Constitution. When criminal law is equal for all, why should the civil law also not be (equal for everyone)," the minister said.
He said some states have already initiated work in this connection.
"But we have clearly said that tribals will be exempted from this. Let adivasis be given freedom to live in their own way. This (UCC) will not be implemented in Schedule 6, Schedule 5, the northeast and other tribal areas in the country," the minister added.
The issue of UCC is currently being examined by the Law Commission. Uttarakhand has so far implemented UCC in the state.
Speaking at the inauguration of a Tribal Research and Training Centre at Bhagwan Birsa Munda Bhavan, Rijiju launched a veiled attack at the Congress, saying there was a time when there was "no big institution or place for adivasis in Delhi".
Representation of elected MPs from tribal communities in the council of ministers at the Centre was also inadequate then, he said.
"Arvind Netam, a very senior leader from undivided Madhya Pradesh, was a minister of state then. When I met him and asked how many more leaders from Scheduled Tribes (STs) are senior ministers or state ministers in the Union government, he said just one or two," Rijiju told the gathering.
"He told me that he won parliamentary elections several times but he was given the status of a minister of state only. He was expressing his agony," he added.
Rijiju hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the work done under his leadership for the welfare and uplift of the tribal community in the country.
"What the Narendra Modi government has done for the uplift of tribals in this country nobody had ever even thought about it before," he said.
Rijiju said there are three Cabinet ministers, including him, and four ministers of state from the tribal community in the Modi government today.
Speaking at the event, Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar also hailed the prime minister for the work done for the upliftment of the tribal population in the country during his tenure and said Modi has "shown a new direction" to the country with his vision.
"Nobody would have ever thought that President Droupadi Murmu, who hails from a tribal society, would be sitting on the country's highest constitutional post," he said.
Addressing the gathering, RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale underscored the need to protect the tribal community from illegal religious conversion and any effort to mislead the community's youth into extremism.
He also said there should also be a "guarantee" for proper rehabilitation of the tribal population if they are displaced from their area for the implementation of development projects.
Developmental initiatives in tribal areas must empower the people of that area, Hosabale said.
"Tribal communities should not be reduced to mere exhibits in a museum but nurtured as a vibrant, living culture," he said.
The RSS general secretary lauded the Ashram and its activists for their relentless efforts to protect and preserve tribal communities' identity and existence while ensuring their holistic development. PTI PK KSS KSS
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