MBMC mayor’s caste certificate under scanner
Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation’s (MBMC) mayor Dimple Mehta from the ruling BJP has landed herself in trouble over the validity of her caste certificate based on which she was crowned the first citizen of the twin-city in August 2017.
Mehta had bagged the mayoral chair on the virtue of her claims of belonging to the Hindu Darji, a caste which has been recognised as other backward class (OBC).
However, the validity of her caste certificate has been challenged by social activist Pradeep Jangam under the relevant sections of the Maharashtra Scheduled Caste, Scheduled
Mehta had bagged the mayoral chair on the virtue of her claims of belonging to the Hindu Darji, a caste which has been recognised as other backward class
Tribes, Denotified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, other backward class and special backward categories (Regulation of Issuance of Verification of) Caste Certificate Act.
In response to the complaint, the District Caste Committee (Mumbai) heard both the parties on Monday and as per its orders will pronounce its decision before February 20, 2018.
Apart from stating that the OBC certificate was procured by misrepresenting facts, the petitioner has contended that probative value in context to the authenticity of the domicile status were clearly inconclusive.
Not ruling complicity by officials in the concerned departments, Jangam said, “After minutely going through all documents sourced out under the RTI act, the ambiguities and manipulations in context to the caste validity and ancestral status of the mayor is under question.”
Terming the allegations as baseless and politically motivated, Mehta said, “As a law-abiding citizen, I have submitted genuine proof for obtaining caste certificates, this supported by all documents from my forefathers’ time. Truth will always remain the truth regardless of such accusations.”
As per an amendment in 2012 to the Caste Certificate Act, 2001, an applicant for a Scheduled Caste (SC) certificate would have to submit a domicile certificate dating back to 1950. This cut-off year was fixed as 1961 for nomadic tribes, and October 13, 1967 for OBC.