PANAJI
Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment in India Ramdas Athawale has raked up controversy over Scheduled Tribe (ST) reservation in the Goa Legislative Assembly saying it is not feasible due to the limited ST population in the State.
However, hours later, he apologised for his statement admitting his lack of accurate information. He was also quick to shift the blame onto his workers and the media persons for not correcting him during the press conference.
“I was unaware that 12 per cent of the State’s population comprises ST community members. As the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, I will also endeavour to secure approval for reservations for this community in the Goa Assembly,” he added.
Earlier, Athawale, while addressing a press conference in the capital city on Tuesday said, “Implementing ST reservation in Goa is not a viable option. There needs to be a significant ST population, which is unfortunately lacking in Goa. The current ST population does not meet the criteria for seat reservation.”
Athawale, who earlier in the day met Chief Minister Pramod Sawant at Mantralaya, told reporters that he has demanded 5 per cent reservation for Scheduled Caste (SC) and ST communities. “The reservations for both the reserved communities should be increased from 2 per cent to 5 per cent as publicly declared by former CM late Manohar Parrikar,” he added.
The union minister further stated that data on the numbers of SC and ST are available in the census but the numbers of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and General Castes are missing.
He also recalled that the Goa Assembly had unanimously passed a private member resolution advocating for political reservation for ST community and political leaders even threatened to boycott the 2024 Lok Sabha elections if the reservation was not implemented.
Athawale also said the foundation stone for the proposed Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Bhavan at Porvorim should be laid before December 6 this year; and that the government should grant ownership to SC and ST people whose properties are included as part of assets of temple committees in Goa.
The State faced a setback when the Central government on July 28 declined Goa’s proposal to grant them a political reservation in 2027 assembly polls. The next delimitation exercise and the readjustment of seats, including reservation for ST and ST is possible after the new Delimitation Commission is constituted based on the census taken after 2026.
