The power to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Dhangar community lies solely with the Centre, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has told activist Deepak Borhade, who is staging a hunger strike in Jalna.

The state government will hold talks with the Centre and send a proposal, Fadnavis told Borhade over the phone on Saturday.

The activist, who has been on an indefinite fast for 11 days, demanding the ST status for his community, said he would decide on whether to continue the fast on Sunday after receiving a written assurance from the government.

Jalna guardian minister Pankaja Munde and her cabinet colleague Girish Mahajan, along with MLAs Arjun Khotkar, Babanrao Lonikar, Narayan Kuche, Ramrao Wadkute, Santosh Danve and District Collector Ashima Mittal, met Borhade a

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