BHUBANESWAR: The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) has alleged that atrocities on Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are on the rise in the State under the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government.

State CPI (ML) secretary Khitish Biswal, in a statement here on Tuesday said, problems like unemployment, price hike of essential commodities, large-scale retrenchment are increasing with every passing day and the State Government has failed to solve them. The SCs and STs living in tribal-dominated districts like Rayagada, Gajapati and Koraput are not getting right price of the minor forest products and they are being exploited by big businessmen, he alleged.

He further said government grants for the tribal people are being siphoned off. ‘‘If the tribals protest the injustice, their agitations are being suppressed by the police,’’ the CPI (ML) leader said, urging the State Government to consider the problems of the SC/ST communities with sympathy.