Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav ask cadres to support Sonbhadra tribals

LUCKNOW: Congress president Rahul Gandhi extended support to tribal leaders Sukaro and Kismatiya of Sonbhadra who have gone missing since June 2018.
In a tweet from his official account @RahulGandhi, the congress chief said: "apne maulik adhikar ke liye sangharsh karne wali, adivasi samaj ki sukaro aur kismatiya ko uttar pradesh mein avaidh tarike se hirasat mein rakhe jane se kafi chintit hoon.(I'm am worried about the way tribal leaders kismatiya and sukaro have been detained in UP)."

General secretary of the All India Union of Forest Working People, Roma claimed "the two leaders - who belong to the Gond tribe - were arrested by UP Police from Choupan Railway station at around noon on June 08, 2018."
"The two women had just returned after meeting UP forest minister Dara Singh Chauhan on June 06, 2018 to voice the plight of the forest dwellers. Since then, the two women have not returned home," she said.
Roma shared that the two women belong to Lilasi village which alongwith 15 others who had claimed their community right over land as per provisions of the Forest Rights Act 2006. Taking a note of the request, the district administration ordered verification of the claim made.
"In Lilasi, huge chunks of land have been illegally encroached upon by muscle men and those close to political quarters. The move by the villagers and subsequent administration action could have deprived the encroacher from the land," Roma stated in an official statement.
"In retaliation, the dominant class connived with the local police and attacked the tribal women. On May 18 and 22, the tribal community were attacked and beaten black and blue. But instead of siding the victims, the police imposed case upon the women. The matter has been kept in pendency while the women are still languishing in jail," she added.
Rahul urged UP congress leadership and workers to take serious note of the matter and raise the issue. "Main uttar pradesh mein congress party ke netayon aur karyakartayon se ye agrah karta hoon ki is vishay ko vahan gambheertia se uthayen," Rahul said in his tweet.
Besides Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party has also raised the cause of the tribal women. In an official statement, SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhury said: "a delegation comprising members from the All India Union of Forest Working People led by party MLA Sanjay Garg met our party president Akhilesh Yadav recently. The former CM has urged party workers to support the cause of the tribal brethren."