Rahul Gandhi says Modi govt failed to protect tribals’ rights, urges it to defend Forest Rights Act in SC

He claimed that the Congress-led government introduced the law in 2006 to correct a historic injustice and ensure that Adivasis had rights over their “jal, jangal and zameen”.

“However, due to the inaction of the central government, countless genuine claims under the FRA have been arbitrarily rejected without any review,” the former Congress chief said.

“In 2019, the Supreme Court ordered the eviction of all those whose claims had been rejected, a move that triggered widespread protests across the country. In response, the court paused evictions and called for a thorough review of the rejected claims,” he added.

The case is back before the Supreme Court on April 2 and, once again, the Modi government is “missing in action”, Gandhi alleged.

“It failed to defend the law in 2019 and continues to show no intention of standing up for Adivasi rights today. Worse still, there has been no serious attempt to review or reconsider the lakhs of pending and rejected claims,” the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

“If the Modi government truly wants to protect Adivasis rights and protect lakhs of families from eviction, it must act swiftly and defend the Forest Rights Act in court,” he added.

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