AP Assembly urges Centre to include Boya, Valmiki communities into ST, Dalit Christians into SC
YS Jagan assured the Legislative Assembly that the inclusion of the Boya / Valmiki community in the list of the Scheduled Tribes would not affect the STs living in the forest areas in the State
AMARAVATHI: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy assured the Legislative Assembly on Friday that the inclusion of the Boya / Valmiki community in the list of the Scheduled Tribes would not affect the STs living in the forest areas in the State.
The Chief Minister allayed the fears that the inclusion of the Boya / Valmiki community people living in the Kurnool, Kadapa, Anantapur and Chittoor districts into the ST list wouldn’t reduce the quota of the STs of the forest areas in Government jobs or educational institutions zoning system was in force as per the six-point formula.
The inclusion might have only negligible impact on the Group 1 jobs which came under the non-zoning category. It became negligible as only 386 Group 1 jobs were notified in the last 10 years and the 6 % reservation only amounted to a meagre 21 or 22 posts, he said, adding it only meant negligible.
The one-man Commission, headed by Samuel Anand Kumar, which studied the social and economic conditions of the Boyas in the four districts and the ST Commission, also agreed with this assessment, said the Chief Minister.
Government jobs in the zoning system and districts constituted 99 per of the total jobs and the STs of the agency areas would suffer no loss because of the possible inclusion, he asserted asking them not to believe the false propaganda being carried out in a section of the media on this.
He said the resolution was introduced in the House requesting the Centre to include the Boya / Valmiki community in the list of the Scheduled Tribes as per the promise given to the community during his Pada Yatra.
Speaking on another resolution that sought approval of the House to request the Government of India to extend Scheduled Caste status to members of the Scheduled Caste community who converted to Christianity, the Chief Minister said that the economic and social status of the people didn’t change automatically just because they converted into another religion.
The House adopted the two resolutions requesting the Centre to include the Boya / Valmiki community in the list of the Scheduled Tribes and to extend Scheduled Caste Status to members of the Scheduled Caste community who were converted to Christianity.