MARGAO
The focus of attention has now shifted to Farmagudi-Ponda, where the United Tribal Associations Alliance (UTAA) will celebrate World Tribal Day on Sunday, where the apex tribal organisation is expected to unveil its action plan for the ongoing agitation seeking political reservations for Scheduled Tribes.
UTAA chief Prakash Velip said the final decision on whether to proceed with or call off the August 13 ‘Chalo Panaji’ rally will be taken at Farmagudi on Sunday. However, he made it clear that the agitation would continue until the 12-point charter of demands of the ST communities, including political reservations, is fulfilled.
Addressing the media in the presence of ST leaders, Durgadas Gawde, D Gawde, Joyce Dias, Molu Velip and Prakash Gaonkar, the UTAA chief has denied that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has requested the organisation to call off the August 13 rally in view of the notification issued by the Central government to implement the political reservations. “The Chief Minister has not made any request to UTAA to call off the proposed Chalo Panaji rally on August 13. We have decided to announce our Action Plan at Farmagudi-Ponda on Sunday on the occasion of World Tribal Day,” he said.
He further refuted reports that there is difference of opinion on holding the August 13 Chalo Panaji rally, saying ‘we could not announce our decision on the Panaji rally today since our advisors are currently out of station’.
Saying that UTAA has expectations from the government to fulfil the long-pending demand of political reservations for the tribal communities, Velip recalled that many organisations and many people in their individual capacity had worked in their own way to demand political reservations.
“With the Centre notifying the law on political reservations, we now hope that the remaining two steps to be initiated by the Election Commission and Delimitation Commission will be implemented within the time-frame,” he said.
Velip, however, cautioned that the agitation launched by UTAA to press for the just demands will continue till all the demands are fulfilled by the government.
Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for taking steps to bring the law on reservations in force via the notification, Velip said the ST communities had missed political reservations in four Assembly elections since the Gawdas, Velips and Kunbis were given the ST status in 2003. “We started our agitation in support of our demands, including political reservations. We will continue our agitation till we get the reservations,” he said.
“Our agitation and unity has had an effect with the government issuing the notification. The Chief Minister has given us an assurance that the entire process of reservations will be completed in two months. We have faith that the CM would realise our long pending demand,” he said.
Tribal body maintains mobilisation push despite rally uncertainty
MARGAO: The ongoing agitation by the United Tribal Associations Alliance (UTAA) to mobilise people for the August 13 Chalo Panaji rally continues on the ground with the organisation going ahead with the planned meetings across the villages.
In fact, UTAA chief Prakash Velip said he and other tribal leaders are heading to Cortalim to address meetings in the constituency on Saturday evening. Similarly, he said after the World Tribal Day programme at Farmagudi, UTAA leaders will visit Nagoa-Verna to attend a meeting called by Salcete Tribal Forum on Sunday, indicating that UTAA has not stopped the exercise to mobilise people for the August 13 rally.
Sources in the know informed that tribal youth from across the State are expected to converge at Farmagudi-Ponda for the World Tribal Day. “We are continuing our agitation on the ground. We have already covered over 450 out of the 650 ST dominated wards across the State,” informed a senior UTAA leader.
