NAGPUR: Rajya Sabha MP and Dhangar community leader Vikas Mahatme today threatened of an agitation by his community members too if they are not granted the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status in the state of Maharashtra.

The Dhangar (shepherd) community has long been for long putting up a demand for the ST status which will allow them to avail reservation in government jobs and education.

The community is as of now classified as a Nomadic Tribe (NT) in the state and Mahatme’s comments come in the backdrop of the ongoing protests by the Maratha community over their demand for reservation in government jobs and education.

Mr. Mahatme said he talked about the ST status issue in the Rajya Sabha yesterday.

Talking to PTI over the phone, Mr Mahatme said, “The issue of granting ST status to the Dhangar community has been pending since the last 70 years. The BJP, in its election manifesto, had promised ST status to the Dhangar community.”

The state government needs to recommend to the Centre to include the Dhangars community in the list of STs, said Mr Mahatme.

“This is necessary otherwise the Dhangar community may hit the roads and start aggressive protests as being done by the Marathas,” said Vikas Mahatme.

Last year too, the Maharashtra government had said in the legislature that it is committed to including whole of the Dhangar community in the ST category.

On Thursday, peace returned to Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Raigad, and Thane after a day of violence over the roads and streets and at last ended in a standoff between the police and protesters who are all demanding reservations for the Maratha community. As of today, no fresh protests have been reported. The protests on Wednesday peaked after the strike was called off in Mumbai and ended in an hour-long dramatic standoff between the police and protesters in Kalamboli in Raigad district.

The Congress party in opposition too, on Tuesday, blamed Mr. Fadnavis for the Maratha reservation agitation going too violent and demanded his resignation. The state government faced accusation from Congress leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil for dilly-dallying on the demands of the community, while it was taking out “silent” protests across to demand their requirements including reservation in jobs and education. The Chief Minister, however, has put the whole blame on the Opposition parties for fanning the violence.

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