Thousands of tea tribe and Adivasi community members on Wednesday took out a protest rally in Assam’s Tinsukia, demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The protest coincided with an official event attended by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, about 10km away.

The protesters from the tea tribes came from 125 tea gardens in Tinsukia district, disrupting work in the estates. They also held a meeting at Thana Chariali in Tinsukia town and dispersed after submitting a memorandum to the Doomdooma circle officer.

The memorandum listed three demands — ST status, land pattas (deeds) and adequate hike in daily wage of tea garden workers.

The protest targeted the BJP-led regime both at the Centre and in the state for not fulfilling the promise of according ST status to the communities.

Community leaders addressing the protest said they will not vote for the BJP if their demand is not met before the state polls.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to address the long-pending demand of ST status for six communities from the state in a rally in run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The 2016 BJP vision document for the state polls had also committed ST status.

Besides the tea tribes and the Adivasis, other communities seeking ST status included the Tai Ahom, Moran, Muttock, Koch Rajbongshi and Chutia. All these communities currently enjoy OBC status. ST status will help them more in matters related to jobs, education and financial assistance.

There are around 96 tea tribes in Assam.

Earlier, the Tai Ahom and the Moran communities had staged massive rallies seeking ST status.

The chief minister on Tuesday said that a government-constituted group of ministers was looking into the issue and will submit its report in the state Assembly in November.

The tea tribe organisations will hold another protest on October 13 in neighbouring Dibrugarh district.