Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that the issue of giving Constitutional protection and privileges to certain tribes, which were stigmatized by the British as criminal, is expected to come before the Cabinet soon.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has ‘completed the examination’ of the recommendations of the National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Tribes, Singh has told an MP from Maharashtra.

"It is hoped that the matter will soon come before the Cabinet," the Prime Minister told Haribhau Rathod in a letter recently.

Rathod said that these tribes were "notified" as criminal tribes in pre-independence era. However, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru denotified them and assured that all efforts would be made for the overall upliftment of this community, which according to the MP is now several crores.

Rathod has been expelled from the BJP as he defied the party whip during the trust vote in July and supported the government.

Representing Yavatmal constituency, Rathod is now claiming that he did so for fear of fall of the Congress-led Government which was seriously considering the issue of separate reservation to the nomadic tribes.

He says he is now ready to join Congress ahead of Lok Sabha elections provided UPA fulfils his demand for giving reservation to denotified and nomadic tribes on the lines of SCs and STs in the country.

He has been demanding seven percent reservation to the denotified and nomadic tribes which are currently in the OBC list.