Naidu govt warned against the move to include Boyas in ST list

 Anantapur: The 'Girijana Shankaravam' organised by Girijana Praja Samakya (GPS) at the sprawling Arts College Exhibition Grounds here on Saturday issued a veiled threat to the Chandrababu Naidu government to back off from its decision to include Boyas in the ST list of reservations forthwith, failing which would vote against the TDP candidates in the state in the 2019 Assembly elections.

 Addressing a massive crowd of girijan community, who came from different parts of the state, GPS national president V Sankar Naik lambasted the local Minister and Rayadurg MLA Kalva Sreenivas for being instrumental in the proposal to merge Boyas into Scheduled Tribes. Shankar Naik said that the Boyas have no historical or cultural links and therefore cannot be treated as part of Valmiki community. 

He said that the TDP government was conspiring to neutralise the ST vote bank and weaken the community by including the Boyas into STs. Several speakers accused the ruling party of hatching a conspiracy to include Boyas and grab their reservation benefits and dominate the ST community. 

They contended that the STs even after 70 years of independence are yet to join the social and political mainstream and if the Boyas merger into STs is carried out the ST communities would plunge into darkness and isolation. AP state president Mallikarjuna Naik, who presided over the meeting called upon the girijan community to gear up to fight to finish the TDP candidates in the 2019 elections.