GUWAHATI: As the opposition Congress is trying to woo tea tribe voters for the upcoming Lok Sabha election, the BJP’s tea tribe body- BJP Chah Jonogosthi Morcha warned the Congress not to indulge in politics with tea workers just to garner votes.
With more than 80 lakh population, the tea tribes constitute approximately 25 per cent of the total population, underscoring their significant electoral influence in five Lok Sabha seats in Upper Assam. 40 of the 126 seats in the state assembly were potentially influenced by the tea community’s preferences.
To woo tea garden voters and as a confidence-building exercise, the Assam Congress launched month-long mass campaigning in tea garden belts under the much-promised mission ‘Bagane Bagane Congress.’ The campaign started at Rupai Tea Estate in Tinsukia district on August 27 and ended at Silanibari Tea Estate of Lakhimpur on September 24.
“Our tea workers have given farewell to Congress forever. And there will be no impact of the ‘bagane bagane Congress’ campaign in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections,” newly-appointed BJP Chah Jonogosthi Morcha president Dulen Nayek said here on Wednesday.
Nayak dismissed the campaign as mere political optics. “Congress had hoodwinked tea workers over 60 years. The Congress had ruled Assam for 15 years in a row. They got ample time to give us land rights and implement minimum wage but there is total apathy on their side,” Nayek said.
Recently, the Assam government hiked the minimum wage of tea workers and according to it, tea workers will get Rs 250 a day in the Brahmaputra Valley and Rs 228 a day in Barak Valley with effect from October 1.
“Congress has to be blamed for the plight of the tea workers in the state. They are never concerned about our problems. Once, Assam Chaah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS) was working as an agent of Congress during the election. They finalized the party tickets in elections. But what they have done for the tea workers. They failed to raise the wages of tea workers over the years. I think this was grave exploitation of a hard-working community that produces tea, which the whole world drinks,” Nayek also said.
While the BJP had promised a wage of Rs 350 in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the state government could increase the daily wage of tea workers from Rs 232 to Rs 250 only.
Nayek however, said: “Our sincere effort to uplift tea workers will continue. Our chief minister continues the discussion with tea producer groups for a further hike of wages of tea workers.”
“Since 2016, the BJP-led government in Assam has taken up a slew of welfare schemes to uplift the tea workers. We are developing schools to provide education to the young generation, giving employment to unemployed youths, developing roads, taking up special schemes for women empowerment and improving health care. So such scheme had been undertaken by the Congress in their 60 year’s rule,” Nayek further said.
He admitted that the tea tribe community can’t be included in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list due to some technical reasons. “However, the issue has been raised at the highest level. The ST tag will be granted to the community shortly,” he added.
During the “Bagane Bagane Congress” campaign, APCC president Bhupen Kumar Bora pledged to adopt the successful Karnataka model of the Gruha Lakshmi scheme, which provides a monthly allowance of Rs 2,000 to women who head their families.
“In addition to your wages, tea labourers will receive an additional Rs 2000 monthly. We have already implemented this scheme in Karnataka, and we will do the same here,” Bora said.
The Congress has been actively campaigning in Upper Assam, home to a significant number of tea gardens, underscoring that a return to power for the party would bring prosperity to tea workers.
During the 2021 assembly elections, Congress promised the Nari Samman scheme, which included a promise of Rs 2,000 per month for women.
