Demand for greater representation for Banjara community

A demand for greater representation to the Banjara community was made by a Maharashtra Congress leader during his meeting with AICC Vice President Rahul Gandhi here today.
Sanjivkumar Rathod, a member of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, met Gandhi here and demanded putting up 10 candidates in the state assembly elections and three in the Lok Sabha polls from the Banjara community.
He wanted the Hingoli Parliamentary constituency in the Congress quota to be reserved for the Banjara community which comprises 10 per cent population in Maharashtra.
He also wanted the community to be recognised as a Scheduled Tribe across the country.

"The language, dresses, customs and tradition of the community is the same across the country and yet there are different types of reservations in states," Rathod said.
He said the community is comes under the SC category in Karnataka, Delhi and Punjab, OBC in Madhya Pradesh, ST in Andhra Pradesh and Nomadic Tribe in Maharashtra.
Rathod also apprised Gandhi of the new railway line survey connecting Adilabad-Mahur-Poharadevi-Washim, which is an area dominated by the Banjara community.