Rajasthan Education Minister voices regret over remark against tribals

Jaipur: Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar expressed regret in the assembly on Thursday over his remark against tribals.

As soon as the proceedings of the House began, Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani said the education minister wanted to present his point.

When Dilawar stood up to answer questions related to his department, the opposition created a ruckus and demanded that he should apologise and be removed from the post.

"They (tribals) are the best part of Hindu society, I don't believe in speaking negatively about them. So if the opposition or any tribal brother has been hurt by my speech, or my words, then I express regret," the minister said.

A war of words broke out between Dilawar and Banswara's newly elected MP Rajkumar Roat on June 22. The minister had allegedly suggested a DNA test to confirm whether the tribal leader is a Hindu or not.

Talking to the reporters on Thursday, Roat said, "Dilawar has apologised not from his heart but out of compulsion. Unlike earlier, the tribal community will not accept if anything is commented against it."

"Today, lakhs of tribals gathered in Mangarh Dham. Dilawar was aware of it and so, he has apologised out of fear. But this apology is not satisfactory. He will not be forgiven. He should resign from the post. The high command should remove him. This is our demand," the MP said.

Roat, who is the leader of the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP), had earlier said that he belonged to the tribal community and believed in a different faith system from organised religions, including Hinduism.

On this, Dilawar had said, "If the BAP leaders do not consider themselves Hindus, then we will get their DNA tested." Congress and BAP MLAs had protested against Dilawar in the Budget session of the assembly.