MARGAO
On the 150th birth anniversary of the tribal leader, Bhagwan Birsa Munda, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said his government is committed towards the upliftment of the Scheduled Tribes and unveiled government’s plan to establish a model tribal village in the State to show case the rich tribal culture and heritage.
The Chief Minister, however, made no mention whether the ST communities comprising of Gawdas, Velips and Kunbis will get political reservations in the 2027 Assembly election as per the Law enacted by the Parliament.
The government not only mobilised tribal people in large numbers to partake in the Birsa Munda’s celebrations at the SGPDA grounds, but party leaders led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, BJP State president Damu Naik, besides Ministers, Digambar Kamat, Ramesh Tawadkar, Subhash Phal Dessai, besides MLAs, Union Minister Shripad Naik, Rajya Sabha MP Sadanand Tanavade, Goa Legislative Assembly speaker Ganesh Gaonkar and other leaders partook in the celebrations and expressed their solidarity with the tribal communities.
While addressing an impressive rally of people at the sprawling SGPDA grounds on the occasion, the Chief Minister highlighted the steps initiated by his government during his tenure for the betterment of the tribal communities “ right from allocating 10 per cent of the State budget for tribal welfare to the expeditious disposal of the forest rights cases.
He also highlighted the decision to set up a tribal research centre and plans to establish tribal museum at Farmagudi. However, the Chief Minister’s silence on the contentious question whether the tribal communities will get political reservations in the 2027 Assembly election has indeed raised many an eyebrow.
Outlining the work carried out by the BJP government towards the upliftment and development of the tribal communities, the Chief Minister said that 10 per cent of the State budget is being allocated to the welfare of the tribal people. Besides, he said the government is not only implementing 18-19 schemes for the tribals, but closely monitoring the implementation to ensure the benefits goes to the intended beneficiaries.
Saying that the backlog of forest rights cases have now come down to 5,000 from 10,000 cases, the Chief Minister said his government is committed to dispose of the pending cases to give the tribals over the land.
He said the tribal research centre at Sanguem will do a research into the history, culture of the tribal people and document it for posterity. While saying the tribal museum will take shape at Farmagudi, the Chief Minister urged Tribal Welfare Minister Ramesh Tawadkar to take the project to its logical conclusion. “Apart from the culture and heritage of the tribals that would be showcased at the museum, it will also play host to history of the freedom fighters from the tribal communities who had participated in the Liberation of Goa from the Portuguese,” he said.
“We are celebrating Birsa Munda’s 150th birth anniversary for his exemplary courage in opposing the British rule. After coming to power in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had embarked on an exercise to accord recognition to the unsung heroes for their rich contribution to the nation. Birsa Munda was amongst them,” the Chief Minister said.
Various speakers including Tribal Welfare Minister Ramesh Tawadkar, who played a leading role in organising the Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary, paid rich tributes to Munda.
Vijai demands assurance of ST quota in 2027
MARGAO: Asserting that the BJP is fooling the Scheduled Tribes in the State with false promises, Goa Forward Party President Vijai Sardesai has challenged the government to announce that the political reservations for the ST communities will be implemented in the 2027 Assembly election.
Referring to BJP double engine government’s celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Advisi leader Bhagwan Birsa Munda, Sardesai said Munda had fought for the rights of the Scheduled Tribes. He, however, lamented that the ST population is yet to get the political reservations in the Legislative Assembly till date, adding that a ST leader Rama Kankonkar was brutally beaten up in the State capital and cow dung smeared on his face.
‘Birsa Munda had fought for land rights of the tribal people. But, here in Goa, land is now not in the hands of Goans and the Mull Goemkars because of government’s wrong policies. Still the government is celebrating Birsa Munda’s 150th birth anniversary,” he said.
He said that tribal leaders such as Prakash Velip should think on their association with the BJP, with issues plaguing the ST communities are still not addressed by the BJP government.
