Shimla, Jul 26 (PTI) People of the Hattee community in the Trans-Giri area of Himachal Pradesh were jubilant after the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill to accord Scheduled Tribe status to them.

Expressing his gratitude to the government, Hattee Committee member Surendra Hindustani said the community struggled to get Scheduled Tribe status for decades. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, however, has fulfilled his promise.

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The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022, was passed in the Upper House of Parliament by voice vote. The Lok Sabha cleared the bill in December.

The bill follows the recommendations of the Himachal Pradesh government that the Hattee community be included in the list of Scheduled Tribes in respect of the state.

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The passage of the bill, which will benefit over three lakh people in about 150 panchayats in the Sirmaur district, fulfils a 50-year demand of the people of the Trans-Giri area.

Leaders of the Hattee Committee thanked the Centre for accepting their long-pending demand.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah had assured the committee that its demand would be met, Hindustani said.

Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur said the Congress only made promises to get votes but never seriously persuaded the matter and party-led governments at the Centre never considered the demand.

Mahendra Dharmani and Baldev Tomar, spokespersons for the BJP's Himachal Pradesh unit, also hit out at the Congress for denying Scheduled Tribe status to the community.

Once the bill gets the President's nod, members of the Hattee community will be entitled to all benefits which are provided to the Scheduled Tribes, especially reservation in educational institutions and government jobs.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)