Banjaras seek Maharashtra-type of reservation in country

New Delhi, Nov 4 (UNI) The leaders of Banjara tribes numbering over six crore, have resolved to seek the ''Maharashtra-kind'' of reservation facilities for education and employment.

''The nomadic tribe, branded as 'criminal tribe' during the British rule, now have a status ranging from Scheduled Caste to Scheduled Tribes in various states of the country but only the Maharashtra type of four per cent reservation is best for the community,'' Mr Haribhau Rathod, BJP MP from Yeotmal told newspersons. The community is now a denotified tribe and was among the most backward in terms of education, employment and economy and it would seek six per cent reservation for the community, he nooted.

Mr Rathod said it was his nomadic forefathers who built the roads whenc no infrastructure existed in old days, moving from one to place another. "We are placed in 27 per cent reservation category and we are willing to accept a lower reservation but bring us under one umbrella throughout the country,'' he added.

UNI MCN BS1939