Siliguri, Feb. 5: Putting a roadblock on the path of GNLF leader Subash Ghisingh?s effort to secure tribal status for the Gorkhas, the All Nepali Scheduled Caste Association today said it would continue to seek reservation for Scheduled Castes in the proposed Gorkha Hill Council, Darjeeling.

Addressing a news conference here, association president K.S. Ramudamu said the caste system is so ingrained in the Gorkha society that mere granting of tribal status would not change the existing social structure. ?Can you change the mindset of the people? Ghisingh was only delivering a speech,? he said making light of the GNLF leader?s recent call to the SCs to convert to tribals.

Asked if in the event of the entire Gorkha community being granted tribal status, his association would still persist with its demand, the association president chose to remain noncommittal. His answer seemed to suggest that the task itself was going to be a difficult. ?Kunwar Singh (chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes) told me that Brahmins can never be included in the ST list,? he said.

Ramudamu was on his way back from Delhi where he lobbied various central agencies and political parties to provide quota for Scheduled Castes in the new council that would be formed under the Sixth Schedule. ?We welcome the granting of the Sixth Schedule, but we are not sure if it will help create a caste-less society,? he said.

According to the memorandum of settlement granting special status to the hills, the new council will have 33 seats, of which 10 have been reserved for Scheduled Tribes, three for other communities and five to be nominated by the governor. ?When the STs can get 10 seats, I see no reason why the SCs cannot get three,? Ramudamu said.

The percentage of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe population in the hills is 9.11 and 35 respectably.

The association president said since reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes is guaranteed under the Constitution, it was the responsibility of the central and state governments to honour this provisions. ?Ghisingh is free to air his views, but he does not have the constitutional authority to decide on reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes,? he said.

Ramudamu said in New Delhi he met the chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Suraj Bhan, Union minister for chemicals and fertilisers Ram Vilas Paswan and senior BJP leader L.K. Advani and urged them to ensure seat reservation for SCs in the new hill council.

He said both Paswan and Bhan were surprised to learn that there were no reserved seats for SCs in the council. ?Paswan immediately wrote a letter to the Bengal chief minister...Bhan said he might issue summons to all the three signatories of the memorandum of settlement,? Ramudamu said.