New Delhi, March 27 BJP MP Nishikant Dubey urged the Centre on Friday to revoke the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status of those individuals who have converted to Christianity or Islam.
He raised this issue during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha and stated that a delimitation exercise should only be conducted in Jharkhand after this measure is implemented.
Dubey also cited a recent Supreme Court order stating that an individual professing a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism cannot be considered a member of the Scheduled Caste.
"No delimitation exercise has been conducted in Jharkhand since 2001. The reason for this was that, due to demographic imbalances, the number of seats allocated to Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes was declining. Consequently, whenever delimitation is eventually carried out in the state, the seats reserved for these categories will decrease further," he said.
"My demand to the government is that the tribal status of those who convert to Islam or Christianity must be revoked. Thereafter, proceed with the delimitation exercise in Jharkhand," Dubey said.