NCST sends another notice to chief secy over invalidating admissions of ST students

Mumbai: The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has issued another notice to the Maharashtra chief secretary Sujata Saunik, seeking information on the state’s intent to invalidate admissions of more than 200 tribal students to Industrial Training Institutes, over them allegedly availing reservation benefits by converting to other religions like Islam and Christianity. Rais Shaikh, in his letter to the NCST, had requested a stay on the invalidation of tribal student admissions to ITIs allegedly based on religion by the Mahayuti government and said it is a larger conspiracy of the Bharatiya Janata Party to link tribals to religions. Following allegations from BJP MLCs Niranjan Davkhare, Praveen Darekar and Prasad Lad that several ST students had allegedly converted to Islam or Christianity but had enrolled in ITIs under ST quota and taken benefit of reservations, the state govt had set up a committee headed by Dr Murlidhar Chandekar, former vice chancellor of the Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University. According to the Government Resolution issued by the Skill Development Department led by Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the panel was to find out the total number of ST students currently enrolled in ITIs who have taken admission under the ST quota even after converting to Christianity or Islam.