Mahabubnagar (Nawabpet): Leaders of various Lambadi organisations, under the banner of the Lambadi Hakkula Porata Samiti (LHPS) staged a rally in Nawabpet mandal on Monday and submitted a memorandum to the Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO). The rally, described as a ‘Lambadi Self-Respect March,’ was led by Mandal President Santosh Naik, with State General Secretary Chander Naik attending as the chief guest.

Speaking at the gathering, the leaders urged Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to suspend Bhadrachalam MLA Tellam Venkata Rao, who won on a BRS ticket and later joined Congress, and Soyam Babu Rao, a former BJP leader who also switched to Congress. They condemned the two MLAs for reportedly filing a petition in the Supreme Court seeking removal of the Lambadi (Banjara) community from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list, calling their action highly deplorable and against constitutional values.

The leaders recalled that the Anil K Chanda Committee had long ago recommended the removal of Raj Gonds from the ST list and questioned why the two MLAs ignored that history. They accused the legislators of creating divisions between Adivasis and Lambadis for personal political gain, warning them to stop attempts to disturb harmony: “Beware, this is unconstitutional and will not be tolerated,” they declared.

The Lambadi community underscored their historic loyalty to Congress, citing the popular saying, “Indira Gandhi means Banjara, and Banjara means Indira Gandhi.” They appealed to the state government to protect the rights and identity of tribal communities by taking swift disciplinary action against the two MLAs.

Prominent participants 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 several other community representatives from surrounding villages.