'Raje should know proper way to refer for ST status'

Cong says Rajasthan CM should know the proper way to recommend Gujjars for ST status and have ask her to act immediately to defuse the situation created by Gujjars.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's recommendation for ST status for Gujjars appears to have found no favour in the Centre, with the ruling Congress on Thursday saying she should know the proper way to do it.

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The Congress asked the BJP-led government of Rajasthan to "act immediately" to "defuse" the situation created by the agitation by Gujjars for ST status.

"The chief minister should know how to make a recommendation to the Centre," its spokesman Manish Tiwari told reporters in New Delhi while commenting on Raje's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recommending grant of ST status to Gujjars.

Elaborating, Tiwari said Raje should have written to the SC/ST Commission, which would have forwarded it to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs before the Cabinet could consider the recommendation.

The comments came in the backdrop of the Prime Minister's Office referring Raje's recommendation to the Law Ministry for advice. The government is reportedly not enthused by the recommendation, considering the manner in which it was done.