State govt sets panel to look into issue of ST students taking reservation benefit after converting to Christianity or Islam
BJP MLCs Niranjan Davkhare, Praveen Darekar and Prasad Lad had raised the issue of how several Scheduled Tribe students who had converted to Islam or Christianity were studying in ITIs after getting admission through reservation.
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There are 966 ITIs in Maharashtra where over 1 lakh students study. (File)The Maharashtra government has decided to set up a three-member committee headed by a retired vice-chancellor to find out the total number of Scheduled Tribe (ST) students studying in industrial training institutes (ITIs) in the state who have availed of reservation after having converted to Christianity or Islam. The committee has also been asked to submit recommendations on the steps that the government can take to ensure that such students do not get reservation benefits.
As per existing government rules, 7.5 per cent of seats are reserved for STs. The law states that individuals belonging to Scheduled Tribes may profess any religion and the castes or tribes included in the list of Scheduled Tribes under Article 342 of the Constitution are entitled to reservation.
“The scope of the committee is to find out the total number of Scheduled Tribe students who have converted and taken benefit of reservations to secure admissions in ITIs across the state. The committee should also give recommendations on the steps that the government can take to ensure that those STs who have converted and those who are ineligible do not avail the benefits of reservations earmarked for the ST community,” a Government Resolution (GR) issued by the skill development ministry said.
There are 966 ITIs in Maharashtra where over 1 lakh students study.
A few days ago, BJP MLCs Niranjan Davkhare, Praveen Darekar and Prasad Lad had raised the issue of ST students who had converted and availed of reservation benefits. In a calling attention notice, the three leaders had claimed that in the state ITIs, there were a large number of ST students who had converted to Islam or Christianity but still managed to secure admissions through reservation.
Subsequently, state Skill Development Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha had said that he would look into the issue. Days later, a GR on setting up a committee to look into the matter was issued. The committee will be headed by Dr Murlidhar Chandekar, the former vice chancellor of Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, and he will be assisted by two other members.
The committee has been asked to submit its report in 45 days. It has also been asked to submit recommendations on the steps that can be taken to promote Adivasi culture amongst Adivasi students.
The move comes at a time when there have been increasing demands from right-wing groups that members of tribal communities who have converted to other faiths should be stripped of their reservation rights and delisted from the original tribe.
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