Meenas hold Mahapanchayat to defend reservation in Karoli

Jaipur, Oct 14 (UNI) Defying the orders of the district administration, the Meenas today organised a huge mahapanchayat at Maanch village in Karoli district today.

The Maha panchayat was sponsored by the Jangati Arakshan Bachavo Samjukt Sangarsh Samiti (Scheduled Tribe Save Reservation Joint Action Committee).

The mahapanchayat was attended by Ministers and MLAs of the ruling party and from the opposition parties. The call for the mahapanchayat by the Meenas was given in response to the Gujjars' agitation for their inclusion in the ST list in the state.

Rajasthan Civil Supplies Minister Kirorilal Meena, Tribal Development Minister Kanakmal Katara and a number of ST MLAs from both the ruling and opposition parties attended the mahapanchayat.

They pledged that the Meenas would never allow other communities to usurp their reservation benefits and warned the political parties and state government of serious consequences if they succumbed to the pressure tactics of the Gujjars.

The district administration had earlier denied permission to the organisers to conduct the mahapanchayat at the village.

But the organisers went ahead with the programme defying the district administration diktat in which the government ministers were present.

UNI