Mahabubnagar (Nawabpet): On Monday, leaders from different Lambadi groups, gathered under the Lambadi Hakkula Porata Samiti (LHPS), organized a rally in Nawabpet mandal. They presented a memorandum to the Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO). The event, called the ‘Lambadi Self-Respect March,’ was led by Mandal President Santosh Naik. State General Secretary Chander Naik was the chief guest.
During the rally, leaders called on Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to take action against Bhadrachalam MLA Tellam Venkata Rao and Soyam Babu Rao, a former BJP leader. Both joined Congress after winning on BRS tickets and reportedly filed a petition in the Supreme Court to remove the Lambadi (Banjara) community from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list. The leaders criticized their actions, saying they go against constitutional principles.
They reminded everyone that the Anil K Chanda Committee had once suggested removing Raj Gonds from the ST list and questioned why the MLAs ignored this. The leaders accused them of trying to divide Adivasis and Lambadis for their political advantage and warned against such actions: “This is unconstitutional and unacceptable.”
The Lambadi community emphasized their long-standing support for Congress, recalling the phrase, “Indira Gandhi means Banjara, and Banjara means Indira Gandhi.” They urged the state government to defend tribal rights by taking decisive action against the two MLAs.
Notable attendees included former MPTCs Ambadas Naik, Raju Naik, Vartya Tulasiram, ex-AMC Director Gopal Naik, Sevalal Sena state leader Hari Naik, LHRPS General Secretary Mangesh Naik, former sarpanch Narasimha Naik, and many other community representatives from nearby villages.
