On Monday, the Congress alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "failed" to protect the rights of tribal communities in Chhattisgarh. The party questioned whether the Prime Minister intends to genuinely prioritize the welfare of tribal populations. Ahead of his rally in Bastar, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh directed questions towards Prime Minister Modi.
In his tweet, he said, the dense, biodiversity-rich Hasdeo Aranya forest, considered the “lungs of the state” are under threat from the BJP and their favourite crony, Adani Enterprises. When the Congress Party was in power, we had 40 coal blocks in this forest cancelled by the Union Coal Ministry to protect the sacred forest. Since the BJP has returned, they have reversed this decision and restarted mining in the Adani-owned Parsa coal block, despite fierce protests from Adivasi groups and activists.
We hope that the PM can shed some light on why he has failed to protect the rights of tribal communities in the state," Ramesh said. Jairam Ramesh, alleges that during their tenure in power, 40 coal blocks in the forest were canceled by the Union Coal Ministry to safeguard the sacred forest. However, since the return of the BJP, this decision has been reversed, and mining has resumed in the Adani-owned Parsa coal block, despite strong opposition from Adivasi groups and activists.
Leaders of the protest point out that the destruction of Hasdeo Aranya would cause irreparable damage to the Adivasi communities livelihood, as well as severe damage to the environment and to wildlife, with a possible worsening of human-elephant conflict. The people of Bastar hoped that this mammoth Rs. 23,800 crore plant would bring major impetus to the development of Bastar and create thousands of opportunities for local youth. In reality, the BJP government has been planning to privatise this plant since 2020, when they decided to sell a majority stake of 50.79 per cent to their cronies, he said.