Bhubaneswar: The Congress on Tuesday slammed the BJP-led “double-engine” governments at the Centre and in Odisha, calling them “anti-tribal”.

It alleged that 53,000 students in the state have not received pre-matric scholarships for the past five months.

Addressing a press conference, Congress MLA Pabitra Saunta said both the state chief minister and the President of India are tribals from Odisha.

“We were hoping that tribals would get justice and their suffering would end. But the BJP government in Odisha has deprived tribal pre-matric students of scholarships for the last five years, which is very surprising,” he said.

Saunta alleged this reflects the “anti-tribal attitude” of the Centre and the state. He demanded immediate release of pre-matric scholarships for Class 9 and 10 tribal students, as well as ST and OBC students.

He added that Congress members would raise the issue in the assembly during the upcoming monsoon session if the demand is not met.