RAIPUR: Former Chattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi on Wednesday challenged the report of the high power committee that recently rejected his claim of belonging to a tribal community.
“We have produced a 600-page petition in the high court highlighting the gross illegalities committed by the panel, whose decision was politically motivated and it's a conspiracy against us. The committee did not even serve us a notice since its formation,” Jogi’s son Amit told the New Indian Express.
Jogi filed the petition through his counsels Shailendra Shukla and Rahul Tyagi.
Earlier, the committee, constituted by the state government on a directive of the Chhattisgarh High Court to examine the legitimacy of Jogi’s caste, turned down the evidences that Jogi submitted in support of his claim that he was part of the Kanwar tribe.
Following the panel's decision, the Bilaspur collector cancelled the tribal status certificate of Jogi.
Three members of tribal community including National Commission for Schedule Tribes (NCST) chairman Nand Kumar Sai, Sant Kumar Netam and Sameera Paikra, opposing Ajit Jogi's claim, also filed a caveat in the high court after the panel's decision.
“We have served copies of the petition to them too,” Jogi said.
“There was political interference during every scrutiny meeting and procedure followed by the committee. It was an absolutely one-sided decision. I have full faith in judiciary”, the 70-year-old bureaucrat-turned politician said.
Chief minister Raman Singh cited that the state government has nothing to do with the decision of the committee. “It was constituted on the directive of the court. Now the judiciary will decide on it”, Singh said.
The controversy regarding Jogi’s caste began some 30 years ago after he resigned from the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) and was elected to the Upper House of the parliament from Raigarh as Congress member in 1986.