Bhopal, Oct 22 (PTI) Congress leader Ragini Nayak on Sunday said tribals who constitute 22 per cent of Madhya Pradesh's population were facing atrocities and exploitation and asked them to uproot the state's Bharatiya Janata Party government in the upcoming polls.

Assembly polls will be held in MP on November 17 and counting of votes will take place on December 3.

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"The atrocities on and exploitation of tribals, who constitute 22 per cent of the population of MP, was the highest among states in the country," she told reporters.

"Rahul Gandhi is continuously maintaining that tribals are the original inhabitants of the country and the first owner of the land, jungle, river, mountains. However, the BJP is calling them vanvasi to confine them to jungles," she claimed.

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To underline her point, Nayak said the previous Kamal Nath government announced a holiday on World Tribal Day on August 9 but it was scrapped by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

She mentioned several crimes that have taken place against tribals, including the Sidhi urination incident in July, which made national headlines.

The Congress would deliver tribals from hardship, exploitation and atrocities, she said.

"I want our 22 per cent tribal brothers and sisters to show the door to Shivraj Singh Chouhan," Nayak said.

(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)