Two days after taking a vow not to enter Mantralaya until the Dhangar community gets reservation in the Scheduled Tribe category, Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Pankaja Munde was symbolically stopped by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLC Ramrao Vadkute from entering the secretariat on Tuesday.
Mr. Vadkute belongs to the Dhangar community, which is included in the Vimukt Jati Nomadic Tribe category. Members of the shepherd community have been demanding ST status for long. Ms. Munde was at Mantralaya for a Cabinet meeting.
At a rally in Nanded on Sunday, Ms. Munde had said, “I, Pankaja Gopinath Munde, promise you in this public meeting that we will come to power without breaking the trust of Dhangars. But until the issue of the Dhangar reservation is resolved, I won’t be able to step into my Mantralaya office.”
On Tuesday, when she arrived at Mantralaya, Mr. Vadkute, who is also the convener of the Sakal Dhangar organisation, stopped her and asked her if she was backing down from her assurance. “The minister told me she never said she would not climb the steps of Mantralaya. This is a betrayal of the Dhangar community. Today, she went back on her own statement and entered her office. In 2019, the Dhangars will ensure that you won’t have to visit Mantralaya,” Mr. Vadkute said, referring to the Assembly elections slated this year.
Ms. Munde said she has not broken her promise. “What I had said was: ‘We (BJP) will form government once again. However, even after coming to power, I will not enter Mantralaya until the demands of the Dhangars are fulfilled’. I am firm on my statement,” the minister said. She said she had never said she would not enter Mantralaya at present.
“Instead of stopping me from entering Mantralaya, [Mr. Vadkute] should question those who kept Dhangars deprived of reservation for the last 70 years,” she said.
Leader of Opposition of in the Council Dhananjay Munde, Ms. Munde’s cousin and arch rival, said, “Today, we have stopped you from entering Mantralaya. Tomorrow, people will stop you from coming to power.”
