Banjaras protest in Beed, Jalna: Give ST status to community, says NCP's Dhananjay Munde
It is part of the ST segment in many states, including Rajasthan and Telangana, said Munde, a former minister who quit in March this year following a furore after his close aide Walmik Karad was held in the Santosh Deshmukh murder case.He added that he could attend the rally only because he was no longer a minister in the state government.The community also held a similar protest in Jalna where participants waved white flags and chanted slogans hailing their spiritual leader Sevalal Maharaj.
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Nationalist Congress Party leader Dhananjay Munde on Monday said the Banjara community should be given Scheduled Tribe status in Maharashtra like some other states.
He was addressing a rally held in Beed by the community seeking ST status under the Hyderabad Gazette, which leaders claimed is being used to give Kunbi certificates to Marathas following the agitation by activist Manoj Jarange.
The Banjara community is part of the Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT) segment in Maharashtra.
''The Maharashtra government should appoint a committee to give ST status to the Banjara community. It is part of the ST segment in many states, including Rajasthan and Telangana,'' said Munde, a former minister who quit in March this year following a furore after his close aide Walmik Karad was held in the Santosh Deshmukh murder case.
He added that he could attend the rally only because he was no longer a minister in the state government.
The community also held a similar protest in Jalna where participants waved white flags and chanted slogans hailing their spiritual leader Sevalal Maharaj. The protesters marched from Mama Devi Chowk to Ambad Chowk.
''We are demanding reservation as per the Hyderabad Gazette, which mentioned our community under the ST category. The government must act within a month, or we will intensify our agitation with a bigger morcha,'' MLC Rajesh Rathod said.
The Hyderabad Gazette is historical evidence and the Banjara community must get justice, former MP Haribhau Rathod said at the protest event.
The agitation gained momentum after a 32-year-old Banjara graduate from Dharashiv allegedly committed suicide on Saturday leaving behind a note demanding ST status for the community. In addition, two Banjara youths have been on an indefinite hunger strike outside the Jalna Collector's office since September 11.
Before Independence, the Marathwada region was under the Nizam of Hyderabad, whose government documented caste, community, occupation, and land records in the Hyderabad Gazette.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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