NEW DELHI, Oct 4: The Maharashtra Mantralaya, the state secretariat in Mumbai, witnessed an unprecedented drama on Friday when seven Tribal MLAs, including NCP MLA and deputy speaker Narhari Jhirwal, jumped from the third floor of Manatralaya only to be landed on a protective net one floor below.
The demonstrators were protesting against the demand for inclusion of Dhanghar community, currently categorised among the Other Backward Classes (OBC), in the Scheduled Tribe category. The protective net was installed inside the building in 2018 to prevent suicide attempts in the secretariat.
Mr Jhirwal, who is a member of the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the ST legislators, including a BJP MP, decided to jump from the Mantralaya to oppose the demand which is reportedly being considered by the state government. Officials said none of them suffered any injuries. Videos showed the legislators climbing back into the building helped by the police after landing on the net.
Earlier in the day, some tribal MLAs held a protest in the Mantralaya complex during a cabinet meeting headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Some members of the Dhanghar community in the state have been agitating in Pandharpur in Solapur district demanding their inclusion in the ST category. The demonstrators have claimed that their community is the same as the Dhangads which are listed as Scheduled Tribes in several states.
(Manas Dasgupta)