A group of Dalit protesters seeking categorisation of scheduled castes in Haryana were detained by the police when they tried to enter Rohtak to meet BJP national president Amit Shah, who is on a visit to the state.
The protesters were detained yesterday when they reached Kilazafargarh village on the Rohtak border as they did not have requisite permission, the police said.
Dalits were divided into two categories--SC(A) and SC (B)--by chief minister Bhajanlal, but Bhupinder Singh Hooda- led Congress government had merged the two segments.
Now, those belonging to SC(A) category are complaining that they were denied benefits they should get as scheduled caste people and demanding division of SC into two categories, as promised by the BJP in the 2015 Assmebly polls.
"Reservation is our right," the leader of the protesters of SC(A), Devi Das, said before being taken into custody.
"We will not rest until we get what we deserve. We are staging a peaceful protest. Despite that, the police have detained us," he said.
The group has been staging a sit-in here for the last 171 days to press for reservation for the community.
Sub-divisional magistrate, Julana, Shiv Kumar said the protesters did not have permission to meet the BJP president.
"If they had permission, we would have allowed them to enter Rohtak," Kumar said.
Shah yesterday began his Haryana visit from Bahadurgarh and is slated to hold a series of meetings and review works undertaken by the M L Khattar government during his three-day stay.
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