Dhangars blame BJP govts for failure in fulfilling promises

The Dhangar community on Friday blamed the BJP government in Goa and in  Delhi, besides the party MPs for their failure to fulfill the promises  made to the community on the eve of the 2014 Lok Sabha election to  include the Dhangars in the list of Scheduled Tribes.

Though  President of the Gomantak Dhangar Samajanatti Mandal and Opposition  Leader, Babu Kavlekar did not announce that the community would vote  against the BJP in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, he, however, made it  clear that the Dhangar leaders will explain to the community members how  the BJP had failed to address their long-pending issue during the last  five years.

Addressing the media in the presence of Dhangar community  leader at the Black Box, Ravindra Bhavan, Margao, Kavlekar said the  delay by the BJP governments in Goa and in Delhi raises doubts amongst  the community whether the same governments in 2003 had deliberately kept  out the Dhangars when the Gawdas, Kunbis and Velips were bestowed the  status as Scheduled Tribes. “In 2003, the BJP was ruling in Goa and in Delhi. We doubt whether the Dhangars were deliberately excluded from the  list of ST community,” he said, while slamming the Goan MPs for their  failure to mete out justice to the community.

He said the  Dhangars had high hopes when the BJP had promised in their manifesto to  get the community included in the ST community. “Our community had voted  for the BJP with the hope that their long-pending demand will be finally  resolved as promised in the BJP manifesto,” Kavlekar said, saying that  their hopes now stands dashed to the ground.

Kavlekar pointed out  that the Centre should have bestowed the ST status on the Dhangar  community given that the Goa Assembly had passed an unanimous resolution  and experts had recommended ST status for the community in the past. 

Saying  that he had never politicised the Dhangar issue just because the State  and the Centre was being ruled by the BJP, Kavlekar, however, said the  community will meet again before the Lok Sabha polls to chalk out the  future course of action and to take the decision whom to vote in the  election.