Kudumi Mohanta Mahasabha”, a leading organisation of Mohantas and Kurmis, has once again reiterated its demand for inclusion of the Kurmi caste in the Government’s Scheduled Tribe (ST) list.
It has, at the same time, rejected West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Benerjee’s announcement of bringing Mohantas into the SC fold, describing this as impractical and untenable.
At an important meeting of the organisation here on Tuesday, the Mahasabha leaders put forth historical evidence to support their claim and requested Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to immediately recommend to the Union Government in their favour.
Earlier, in 2006, 2007 and 2008, they had organised huge rallies to press for their demand of ST status at Baripada, Keonjhar and Bhubaneswar and had also got assurance from Patnaik that their demand would be fulfilled, which never materialized. Describing Mamata’s recent stand of making them SCs a mere “political ploy” and their ST status demand as a “democratic right”, the Mahasabha leaders warned the Naveen Government of intensifying their stir if their demands are not met.
The meeting was presided over by Mahasabha State president Gopabandhu Mohanta and was attended by Abani Mohanta, Baidyanath Mohanta, Padmalochan Mohanta, Bhaktahari Mohanta, Krupasindhu Mohanta and many other senior Mahasabha leaders. While Basanta Kumar Mohanta delivered the introductory speech, Satya Narayan Mohanta gave the vote of thanks.