Maharashtra Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal Jumps From Secretariat's 3rd Floor, Drops On Safety Net

Unprecedented scenes unfolded at the Maharashtra state secretariat in Mumbai on Friday when Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal and three other legislators jumped from the third floor to protest the potential inclusion of a community in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category.

Zirwal, a member of the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), along with the legislators, including a BJP MP, safely landed on a net one floor below, which had been installed in 2018 to prevent suicide attempts at the Mantralaya.

The group protested against the consideration of the Dhangar community's inclusion in the ST category. Officials confirmed that none of the participants sustained injuries, and videos showed them climbing back into the building after landing on the safety net.

Earlier in the day, tribal MLAs held a demonstration in the Mantralaya complex during a cabinet meeting attended by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis.

The Dhangar community, currently classified under Other Backward Classes (OBC), has been campaigning in Pandharpur, Solapur district, for their inclusion in the ST category, arguing that they are the same as the Dhangads, who are recognized as Scheduled Tribes in several other states.