Baripada, Sept 23: The Kudumi Community in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district has staged a protest over Union Minister, Bishweswar Tudu’s alleged non-cooperation with their inclusion in Scheduled Tribe (ST) list.

Besides, the tribal leaders have expressed their discontent over Tudu’s remark in this connection.

Sources said that the Kudumi Community of the Mayurbhanj district had staged a protest on Thursday demanding ST status for the Kudumi community across the state. Apart from it, they demanded the Kudumali dialect of the Kudumi Community as an official language.  

They staged a rail roko at the Bhanjapur station in order to draw the attention of the Centre. Meanwhile, Tudu expressed an adverse remark saying that a handful of tribal leaders are misleading the locals on a silly issue.

The union minister’s remark triggered angry protest among the Kudumi people who staged a demonstration before the District Collector’s office on Friday. Subsequently, they burnt the effigy of Tudu.