04 October,2024 02:41 PM IST | Mumbai | Sanjana Deshpande
Deputy Speaker of Maharashtra Narhari Sitaram Zirwal. Pic/PTI
Maharashtra Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal jumped off the third floor of the Mantralaya building on Friday and landed on the safety nets. According to party sources, Zirwal and several tribal MLAs jumped off the third floor since they were protesting against the Dhangar community getting reservations under the ST category.
Visuals have emerged of the Maharashtra deputy speaker and other tribal leaders being rescued from the safety nets after they jumped. The authorities were spotted making attempts to bring them to safety.
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Sources said that the Zirwal, who's a tall tribal leader, was unhappy after the Maharashtra government recently said it would grant the Scheduled Tribe status to the Dhangar community. Hence, the tribal leaders jumped off the third floor of the Mantralaya building.
Maharashtra Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal had previously questioned the need to include the Dhangar community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category. Zirwal, on September 16, said, "There is no opposition to Dhangars getting the benefits of reservations. But why include them in the ST category? We should have been invited to the meeting held on Sunday. We would have presented our side. The government can give them separate benefits, but there is no need to include them in our group."
His statement came a day after the state government announced a panel to resolve the issue of their reservations.
Dhangars are a shepherd community from western Maharashtra and the Marathwada region, have been demanding inclusion in ST category. The community claims that it has been deprived of the quota as the Centre's database has no mention of Dhangar but instead identifies Dhangad as part of STs.
On September 15, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde convened a meeting with representatives of the Dhangar community. The state government announced the formation of a panel of three Indian Administrative Officers (IAS) to determine if 'Dhangar' and 'Dhangad' are different names for the same community.
