TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh has urged Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy to convince the Centre to include Valmiki and Boya communities in the ST list. He wrote a letter to the chief minister raising the issue.

Lokesh stressed the need for conferring the ST status on the two communities which have been eking out their livelihoods by hunting and gathering forest produce since ancient times. The Satyapal team, formed by the Chandrababu regime, also reported how Valmikis, Boyas were lagging far behind in socio-economic and political spheres of life.

In a letter here, Lokesh told Jagan Mohan Reddy that on December 1, 2017, the Chandrababu Cabinet approved a resolution recommending to the Central Government for including the two communities in the ST list.

The State’s recommendation was based on the Satyapal panel report. The Cabinet, AP Assembly and Council resolutions along with the Satyapal report were sent to the Centre for further proceedings.

Lokesh reminded the Chief Minister of his pre-election promise to strive for ST status to Valmikis, Boyas. The previous TDP regime had provided all the required information to the clarifications sought by the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry on September 5, 2018. Ever since, the issue has been pending with the Centre.

The TDP MLC strongly objected to Jagan Mohan Reddy turning totally indifferent to the cause of getting the ST status for the two deprived communities. In the past three years, many sessions of the AP Assembly and Council were held but the CM did not take up even a single small debate on the Valmikis, Boyas issue.

Lokesh recalled that on October 20, 2021, former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu wrote a letter to the Prime Minister seeking the ST status to Valmikis, Boyas. It was on the occasion of the Valmiki jayanthi. However, the AP Government has not initiated any efforts towards this objective.

Lokesh said any Government should continue efforts to complete the tasks and projects initiated by the previous Governments for solving the problems of the people. The AP regime was totally neglecting this. As a result, Valmikis, Boyas have suffered severe losses. After three years, the ruling party MPs gave a memorandum to the PM on the ST status issue.

Lokesh urged Jagan to take an all-party delegation to Delhi to press for the inclusion of Valmikis, Boyas in the ST list. There was a strong need to convince the Centre to approve the AP Assembly and Council resolutions and Satyapal report that were already submitted to it.