MARGAO
GFP Chief Vijai Sardesai has said the ward reservations notified by DMA has given justice to women and weaker sections of society as mandated by the Supreme Court verdict.
Sardesai said he would table a Private Member’s Bill in the ensuing Assembly session to empower only the State Election Commission with the job of delimitation and reservation of municipality and panchayat wards.
He said if the government does not accept his Private Member’s Bill, the new government that would come to power next year will bring about an amendment to the Municipalities and Panchayati Raj Act arming the SEC to carry out the reservations and delimitations.
Though Sardesai claimed that reservations will affect his candidates in as many as seven wards, the Goa Forward Chief seems to have taken the notification in his stride. Sources said of the seven candidates, sitting councillor Glen Andrade (10) and Sujay Lotlikar (5) have been hit the most compared to others.
Saying that his calculations have been affected in as many as seven wards, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 23, Sardesai said women in Ward 11 have not got their due even after 30 years.
‘The last-minute shock the aspirants get because is not a good sign of democracy. We have to hand over the power of carrying out reservations and delimitations to an independent institution such as the SEC,” he added.
