Hundreds of tribals under the banner of Odisha Jana Jati Suraksha Manch took out a massive rally in Bhubaneswar on Saturday demanding exclusion of tribes, who have converted to other religions, from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list.
Donning their traditional attires, hundreds of tribes from different districts, took out the rally from Ram Mandir Square in the capital city. They are scheduled to attend a meeting at Janata Maidan later in the day.
The rally, which aims at preserving the heritage and culture, was led by Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Bishweswar Tudu.
“The tribes have their own culture and tradition. If someone is converting to other religion, he/she is going away from his original culture. So s/he must be excluded from the reservation list,” Tudu said.
“The demand is growing louder across the nation and Odisha is no different. Tribes across the state have gathered in Bhubaneswar and a meeting will be held at Janata Maidan,” the Union Minister added.
“Those who left our Sanatan Hindu Dharma and converted to other religions should be excluded from the reservation category. Every tribe has its own culture, tradition and presiding deity,” said a protestor.
(Reported by Kapilendra Pradhan, OTV)