MARGAO
The Akhil Gomantak Kshatriya Maratha Samaj on Sunday warned the Central and State governments, as well as the BJP, of serious consequences if political reservation for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) community is implemented without conducting a fresh Census.
Reacting to the Central government’s notification on political reservation for STs in the Goa Legislative Assembly, the organisation alleged that the move had hurt the sentiments of the Maratha community.
The Samaj said implementing reservation based on the 2001 and 2011 Census figures, without fresh data, was unjust and discriminatory. It questioned the authenticity of using 25-year-old caste data, pointing out that ST status was granted to the community only in 2003.
“How can a political reservation notification be published based on the 2001 Census? In the 2001 Census, did the Census count the ST population? ST status was granted to the ST community in 2003. During the 2001 Census, the present STs were in the OBC category. So, how can that caste data from 25 years ago be authentic?” the Samaj questioned.
Saying the AGKMS followed the ideology of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, which advocates taking all castes and creeds together, the organisation said opposition to reservation without a fresh Census was not only the demand of the Maratha community but also of non-ST voters.
“The government has committed a serious mistake by taking a decision to appease one community while hurting the sentiments of the Maratha community. The BJP government will have to face the consequences of this decision,” said AGKMS president Suhas Fal Dessai.
Fal Dessai said the Maratha community had made immense sacrifices during Goa’s liberation and alleged that despite these contributions, the BJP had chosen to hurt its sentiments. He warned that the community would teach the BJP an appropriate lesson over what he termed an “unconstitutional and unjust” decision.
He also alleged that political leaders claiming to belong to the Maratha community had become party to the decision and warned that they too would be held accountable.
A meeting of the AGKMS Core Committee was subsequently held at the Porvorim Sankul to discuss the issue and decide the organisation’s future course of action. Fal Dessai said further action would be planned against what the organisation described as the government’s unilateral implementation of political reservation.
The organisation said it had earlier submitted four demands to the government: that political reservation should not be implemented until a fresh Census is completed; caste-wise data should be made public after the Census; the number of ST voters in each Assembly constituency should be disclosed; and constituencies should be delimited, with reservation implemented on a rotational basis according to the ST population.
Expressing disappointment that its demands had allegedly been ignored by the BJP-led Central and State governments, Fal Dessai questioned why the government could not have given representation to ST members by fielding candidates in 10 constituencies instead of “hurriedly” imposing political reservation without a fresh Census.
The AGKMS reiterated that it would continue opposing political reservation without a fresh Census and said its future course of action would be decided after consultations.
