Mumbai : On Friday, the Maharashtra state secretariat in Mumbai saw an unusual incident when Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal, along with three other legislators, leapt from the third floor in protest of the proposed inclusion of a community in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category. The group, which included a BJP MP, landed safely on a net one floor below, set up in 2018 to deter suicide attempts at the Mantralaya.
Zirwal, who belongs to the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the other legislators decided to express their opposition to the consideration of the Dhangar community’s demand for ST status. Officials confirmed that none of them were injured in the fall. Videos captured the legislators climbing back into the building after their landing.
Earlier that day, a protest by tribal MLAs took place within the Mantralaya complex during a cabinet meeting featuring Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis, among others.
Currently classified as Other Backward Classes (OBC), many members of the Dhangar community have been protesting in Pandharpur, located in Solapur district, seeking their designation as Scheduled Tribes. The demonstrators argue that their community is aligned with the Dhangads, who are recognized as Scheduled Tribes in numerous states.
