Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 12: All India Confederation of SC ST OBC Organizations organized a protest demonstration today at Ambedkar Chowk against the administration’s move to dilute the ST reservation by inclusion of elite classes under the ST status.
The participants protested aggressively against the move of the administration and raised slogans against UT administration as well as Union Government.
Speaking on the occasion, RK Kalsotra, State president of the Confederation said, “Tribals constitute a major chunk of the population of J&K. Most of these tribals are from tribes like Gujjar, Bakarwal, Gaddi, Gurezi etc. These are mostly belonging to far flung villages without access to proper amenities and hence given reservation provisions. But the Government is trying to add some elite classes into the ST status which will evidently reduce the share of the Gujjars, Bakarwal, Gaddi, Gurezi etc under the ST reservation”.
Kalsotra said they are not against the Government but only those decisions of Government which dilute the constitutional mandate of SC, ST, OBCs. He added that until and unless this move is not dropped by the Government the protests and demonstrations will continue at all over the UT at tehsils, districts, blocks. He advised the LG to recommend the Central Government to drop the idea of dilution of ST status by inclusion of elite classes.
Advocate Anwar Choudhary said that historically no previous commissions had even recommended ST status to Paharis and that the current recommendation suggests that Government is bowing down to political pressure.
Aslam Choudhary, Bashir Noon and Shafi Bajard said it is an astonishing that the so called political representatives have yet not openly come forward to oppose this decision of the Government and it showcases the sincerity of the so called leaders of depressed classes.
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