MT News Service
Jammu, July 17:
A delegation of Bazigar community today met J&K BJP General Secretary Dr. Devinder Kumar Manyal (former Minister) at party headquarter, Trikuta Nagar, Jammu.
Delegation was led by Kuldeep Kumar Councillor MC Akhnoor and Raju Pradhan.
Speakers put forth the demand of their community to include their community in OBC castes. The Socially and Educationally Backward Commission has started the process of Inclusion and exclusion of castes and communities which come under the preview of Reservation in the UT of J&K.
The Bazigar (Madari) community is a socially, educationally and Economically backward community and these communities are notified as Reserved categories in other states but not in Jammu & Kashmir. They said some of the families have come from Pakistan after the partition and even those families of Bazigars are not getting any benefit of being refugees. In a statement issued to mercury times, the delegation informed their population is about One Lakh in Jammu Kashmir. They are settled at various places in Jammu and Kashmir like Akhnoor, Kathua, Samba, Bawe area in Jammu, even in Rajouri and Nowshera.
A large number of families are landless and have no source of income. They used to do the drama acts and other roadside entertainment activities as their profession (Madari) and even begging. The delegation requested that keeping in view their backward status this community must be given benefit of Reservation under the OBC category. They said that the successive governments in Jammu Kashmir has played with their sentiments and this community was only used as a vote bank and none of them has taken their demands seriously. Raju said that now since the time Narendra Modi ji has become the PM of our country we are very hopeful that our long pending demand will be fulfilled.
Dr Manyal heard the demands of delegation patiently and assured that their demand is very genuine and BJP has always worked for the welfare of the poor and downtrodden. Citing the recent expansion of Modi ji s cabinet in which 27 ministers are from this community of OBC Dr. Manyal said that Modi ji and BJP believes in “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas.”
Dr. Manyal said that their issue was also taken up in recent meeting of BJP delegation with Backward classes Commission at Srinagar and the commission was very positive towards this demand of including Bazigars, Banjara, Madari communities in OBC Category.
Dr. Manyal assured them that BJP will arrange a meeting of the delegation with the commission at Srinagar so that their demand reaches at the appropriate platform. Later, the delegation submitted a memo of demands to Dr. Manyal with the hope that their issues will be taken up at the right forum and justice will be done with this community.
Delegation thanked the BJP party and especially General secretary Dr. D.K Manyal for hearing their demands patiently and the assurance they got from the party.
