PANAJI
Advocate Amit Palyekar who has taken the current BJP-led government by storm by uncovering numerous scams and blatant illegalities, is a commoner like everyone else. In a time when everyone believes nothing can be achieved by the common man, Palyekar believes when the common man rises, Goa wins. Palyekar has overcome a lot of odds and fought a lot of battles to reach this point. Palekar from the Bhandari Samaj is the new hope for the Goan people, stated AAP in a press release.
Bhandari Samaj, which accounts for 35 per cent of the population, is the largest community in Goa. However, the community has never got its rightful place in Goa’s politics. Goa was liberated 60 years ago (from the Portuguese). During this time, there have been chief ministers from various communities -- Brahmin, Marathi Gomantak Samaj, Catholic. But, from the Bhandari Samaj, there was only one chief minister -- Ravi Naik for two-and-a-half years, the release stated.
Palyekar grew up in Merces in a middle-class family. His father taught at Merces English School, later joined Holy Family High School in Porvorim, and his mother ran a grocery shop in Merces. As a middle-class family, Palyekar’s parents struggled to raise three kids, but they made the best of the resources they had to provide quality education to their children. Today Palyekar and his two siblings have been able to achieve their dreams.
Palyekar has a bachelor’s degree in Zoology and aspired to do an MBA. He had taken entrance exams and was selected at Delhi and Bangalore colleges at that time. However, the higher tuition fees prevented him from enrolling there. As his father always dreamt that he should become a lawyer, Palyekar chose the legal field. He obtained his master’s degree in Constitutional law and Intellectual property rights from Goa University. During his time at Goa University, Palyekar began working as a sub-editor for Gomantak newspaper to cover his expenses. When he started practising law in 1998 under a senior lawyer, he realised that lawyers don’t earn much at the beginning of their career, so he decided to apply for government jobs.
Palyekar was brilliant, sincere, and dedicated to his career which led him to qualify for the GPSC examination in 2002. Despite securing a position on the merit list, he was unable to join the service because he refused to pay a bribe to the officers. In the aftermath of his father’s death from cancer in 2007, Palyekar’s life took a 180-degree turn. He realised he ought to practice law instead of running behind government jobs. He has never looked back since then, the release stated.
His mother is a two-term Sarpanch of Merces village panchayat and has been actively involved in politics for the past 30 years. During the first wave of Covid, the government imposed a sudden lockdown that left many families without food. Palyekar, with the assistance of the Rotary Club of Panaji Riviera, provided families with dry rations that were adequate to last them for 15 days, the release adds.
