Rajasthan Education minister Madan Dilawar apologises over 'DNA test of tribals' remark

Jaipur: Rajasthan Education minister Madan Dilawar, who has been under fire for his remarks against tribals, on Thursday asked for forgiveness and expressed regrets in the ongoing state Assembly session. 

Dilawar, with a strong RSS background, had mocked the newly elected tribal MP from Banswara, Rajkumar Roat, after he had said in an interview that tribals were distinct from Hindus as they followed different rituals, culture and traditions and followed a belief that is different from Hinduism.

Reacting to it, Dilawar had said that if Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) leader does not consider himself Hindu, a DNA test should be done to verify whether he is actually the son of a Hindu. 

His remarks had caused a furore amongst the tribals who protested vehemently and demanded that the minister apologise. Angry tribals had protested in the heart of the capital city and offered their blood samples for testing. 

Dilawar had, however, climbed down from his stand soon after, saying he has always considered tribals as Hindus and would continue to do so.

On Thursday, during the ongoing Assembly session, when the education minister stood up to answer questions related to his department, the Opposition started shouting and demanded that the minister apologise and also be removed from his post.  

Dilawar then said, “They (tribals) are the best part of Hindu society, I don't believe in speaking negatively about them. So if the Opposition or any tribal brother has been hurt by my speech, or my words, then I express regret.”

Dilawar’s climb down may have been spurred on by the upcoming by-elections in Jhunjhunu, Dausa, Deoli-Uniara, Khimwsar and Chaurasi Assembly constituencies which have a sizeable tribal population. The anger amongst the tribals may affect the outcome of the results. Tribals account for more than 13 per cent of the total population.

BAP’s as a tribal-base party’s rising graph in the tribal-dominated southern parts of Rajasthan, is a cause for worry amongst BJP. As a first time MP, Roat arrived in Parliament in tribal finery and on a camel back.     

Although BJP managed a reasonable show in the Assembly elections in December 2023 winning 115 seats in a House of 200, it could only win 11 out of the total 25 Lok Sabha seats in 2024 after clean sweeps in 2014 and 2019 elections. 

On the other hand, BAP, a relatively new party, contested 27 seats in the Assembly elections and won three out of the 200. Roat, who won the Chaurasi seat, gave it up to contest the Banswara seat against Congress turncoat and highly influential tribal leader Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, who joined BJP, just before the polls. He defeated Malviya by a margin of 2,47,054 votes and with a  vote share of 50.15 per cent.