MARGAO
A group of Scheduled Tribes (ST) leaders from South Goa on Friday accused Goa Forward Chief Vijai Sardesai of trying to divide tribal communities and target ST leaders and MLAs. They questioned whether Sardesai, during his long association with the Congress party, had ever taken up the problems of ST communities with Congress leaders in Goa or Delhi.
Addressing the media, ST leaders Prabhakar Gaonkar, Anthony Barbosa, Mohan Gaonkar and others told Sardesai not to shed “crocodile tears” for ST communities over the attack on activist Rama Kankonkar. They clarified that they were speaking as ST leaders and not as members of any political party. They added that the BJP had not only condemned the attack on Kankonkar, but had also ensured that the accused were brought to book.
Prabhakar Gaonkar urged Sardesai not to belittle the community by repeatedly calling the cow dung attack on Rama an attack on all STs. “Sardesai raised the issue in the Assembly. Is he trying to say we all belong to the lower caste? The same Sardesai once called Canacona MLA Ramesh Tawadkar a monkey. He also referred to Govind Gawde as Shah Jahan. Did Sardesai ever speak in the same way about other Ministers or MLAs?” he asked.
Anthony Barbosa said, “Sardesai had spoken against Govind Gawde and denied tickets to the ST community in the last Municipal elections. He has no right to speak on ST leaders and should stop dividing the community.”
Mohan Gaonkar questioned why the Goa Forward party did not support Ganesh Gaonkar for the post of Goa Legislative Assembly Speaker if it was truly interested in the welfare of tribal communities.
