Mumbai: Close on the heels of the Maratha quota agitation, members of the Banjara community held a protest in Marathwada’s Beed district on Monday, demanding that their caste status be changed from VJNT (nomadic tribes) to Scheduled Tribes, which have a higher quota.“We are demanding the implementation of the Hyderabad gazetteer in the case of the Banjara community as well. The community has been listed as ST in the gazetteer,” said NCP MLA Vijaysingh Pandit. Marathwada was part of Hyderabad state and came under Nizam rule until the formation of Maharashtra.Meanwhile Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar called a meeting of OBC leaders in Mumbai on Monday and opposed the government resolution issued by the state to end the fast of Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange. The GR allows for the implementation of the Hyderabad gazette, simplifying the procedure for Marathas with Kunbi (OBC) antecedents during the Nizam’s regime to apply for the OBC quota.“The GR will allow Marathas to get into the OBC quota. We will fight this in court and on the streets,” Wadettiwar said. He said the OBCs are going to hold a grand march in Nagpur in the first week of October against the government’s GR.
