Tribal MLA Protest: A Call for Scholarship Restoration

Four tribal MLAs protested in the Gujarat assembly against the discontinuation of a scholarship for tribal students. Evicted during Question Hour, they were joined by other Congress MLAs in a walkout. The suspension was not ruled on, and discussions continued about the decision to end certain scholarship allocations.

In a dramatic turn of events, four tribal MLAs, three from the Congress and another from the Aam Aadmi Party, were evicted from the Gujarat assembly on Tuesday. The lawmakers had entered the well of the house to protest against the recent cancellation of a post-Std 10 scholarship for tribal students.

Following their eviction, led by AAP's Chitar Vasava and Congress' Anand Patel, Kanti Kharadi, and Tushar Chaudhary, seven other Congress MLAs walked out in solidarity. Despite demands from ruling BJP members to suspend the protesting MLAs for the day, Speaker Shankar Chaudhary refrained from issuing a suspension.

Upon their return after the Question Hour, the opposition MLAs joined the assembly's discussion to express gratitude to Governor Acharya Devvrat for his budget session address. Tribal Development Minister Kuber Dindor clarified that the scholarship was withdrawn only for students admitted under the management quota but defended its continuation for government quota admissions. This move triggered demands for the scholarship's restoration.

(With inputs from agencies.)