Jammu: BJP MLAs Arvind Gupta and Narinder Singh demanded ST-2 status for the Pahari people. Unsatisfied with the government’s response, they walked out of the House.
Arvind Gupta, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Jammu, stated that he wants Scheduled Tribe (ST)-2 status. This ST status is only for the Pahari-speaking people of the Pir Panjal and Uri areas of Kashmir.
Jammu South-RS Pura MLA Narinder Singh also raised this issue in the House today with a question.
He said, “I have been raising the issue of hill people from Rajouri and Poonch districts not receiving ST-2 status in other parts of the Union Territory. One such example is our Jammu-West MLA Arvind Gupta, who applied for the status a year ago but has not yet been granted it. I am not receiving a satisfactory response from the government.”
Reacting to this, National Conference (NC) MLA from Poonch, Aijaz Jan, interrupted and asked BJP MLA Narinder Singh and Arvind Gupta whether they were Dogras or Paharis.
Jan said, “This status is for those hill people who live by grazing their land, caring for their cattle, and enduring the hardships of the land.”
Sakina Ittoo, Minister for Social Welfare, Health, and Education, said, “There are certain criteria and guidelines for obtaining ST-2 status, and one must be a resident of the area before applying for the status.” Taking objection to the government’s statement, BJP MLAs Arvind Gupta and Narinder Singh walked out of the House in protest.
