NASHIK, MAY 10: Chaos prevailed at a public meeting of Chief Minister Narayan Rane at Jalgaon Sunday night when members of the Koli community hurled chhapals and stones at the dais, to demand their inclusion into the scheduled tribes.Rane was on his first visit to Jalgaon after becoming the chief minister of the State. With the meeting commencing two hours behind schedule, members of the Koli community in the audience got agitated and started jeering at the speakers. Subsequently, chhapals and stones were hurled at the dais.
Total disorder prevailed with the police attempting to quell the protestors and members of the audience running for cover. Attempts to pacify the mob by Housing Minister and local MLA Sureshdada Jain were also in vain. Finally, the police resorted to lathi charge the protestors. However, nobody was injured.
Normalcy returned only after Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde began his speech.
Talking to reporters in Jalgaon on Tuesday, Rane said that the decision to include theKolis in the scheduled tribes rested with the Union Government. According to Munde, several community like Tokare and Malhar were demanding recognition as Mahadev Kolis, who are scheduled tribes.
Rane's engagements in Jalgaon included the inauguration of the first 17-storeyed skyscraper Sureshdada Jain Towers. He also announced better procurement prices for cotton in a week.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.