A group of Scheduled Tribe MLAs, led by Maharashtra’s Deputy Speaker and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Narhari Zirwal, on Friday jumped from the third floor of the Mantralaya and landed on the safety net in protest against granting ST status to Dhangar community and government’s apathy towards the issues raised by tribal people.
Zirwal was joined by Kiran Lahamate of the NCP, Rajesh Patil of the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA), Hiraman Khoskar of Congress and Hemant Savra of the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP).
This is the second agitation led by Zirwal who had staged a one-day sit-in protest outside the Mantralaya on September 30 against the state government’s lack of response to MLAs from tribal communities’ request against the inclusion of Dhangars in ST list.
Zirwal, one of the senior-most tribal MLAs from the ruling coalition, said that he is a tribal person first and then an office-bearer in the government. “The discontinued process of appointment of Scheduled Tribe candidates notified under PESA (The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension of Scheduled Area) should begin at the earliest. Those students are sleeping on roads demanding this and not a single government representative is visiting them” he said.
VIDEO | Maharashtra Assembly Deputy Speaker Narhari Sitaram Zirwal jumped from the third floor of #Mantralaya building. He was saved by the safety net. Zirwal drastic action came amidst ongoing protest against the ST (Scheduled Tribe) reservation demanded by the Dhangar… pic.twitter.com/AofmgIwbz3
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 4, 2024
Zirwal said that the government must not take any unconstitutional decision regarding the inclusion of Dhangars in the Scheduled Tribe list and the TISS report on Dhangar reservation should be made public.
The Dhangars, a shepherd community, claim that the Dhangad tribe, which has ST status, is identical to the Dhangars and that a “spelling mistake has cost them the ST status”. The Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court had rejected petitions from the community regarding the same. The Dhangars currently enjoy OBC status and hold a presence largely in western Maharashtra with an influence in 25-30 Assembly seats.
A few weeks ago, after meeting a delegation of Dhangar community, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had said that the state government would ensure justice to them without hurting others. Another minister Shambhuraj Desai said that the government would think of issuing a government resolution giving ST status to Dhangars. Since then, tribal communities have been on a warpath.
Click here to join The Indian Express on WhatsApp and get latest news and updates