Chandrababu Naidu urges PM Narendra Modi to accord ST status to AP Valmikis, Boyas

Mangalagiri: TDP national president N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to include Valmiki and Boya communities of Andhra Pradesh in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list through a bill in Parliament.

On the occasion of Maharishi Valmiki's birth anniversary, Naidu wrote a letter to the Prime Minister stressing the need for resolving a long-pending issue before the Central government with regard to the demand of Valmikis and Boyas. This was necessary as these two communities living in plain areas of Andhra Pradesh have been suffering in poverty. These communities have traditionally earned their livelihood through hunting and gathering forest produce.

The former chief minister said that the Valmiki and Boya communities were not included in the ST list despite favourable recommendations by the Anantarama Commission and several other panels. In 1964, the Government of Andhra Pradesh passed orders stating that the Valmiki/Boyas in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra are one and the same. In 1968, the two communities were included in the ST list irrespective of regions.

Naidu told Modi that on December 1, 2017, the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet had passed a resolution recommending the Government of India to include Valmikis/Boyas in the ST list.

He pointed out that the AP SC/ST Commission toured across different districts and concluded that there was a need to include Valmikis/Boyas in the ST list.