MARGAO
The Mission Political Reservations for the Scheduled Tribes on Saturday demanded that the government immediately fulfil all the demands of the tribal communities including the political reservations for the scheduled tribes.
Members of the Mission led by President Adv John Fernandes, Govind Shirodkar, Joseph Vaz and others paid homage and tributes to the two tribal youths, Manguesh Gaonkar and Dilip Velip, who were killed in the historic May 25, 2011 Balli agitation. The ST leaders pointed out that it was due to the sacrifice made by Gaonkar and Velip that the demands of the tribal communities took centre stage.
They, however, lamented that the government has failed to implement the long-pending demands of the tribals, including the political reservations for the scheduled tribes. “Many say that demands of the tribal communities have been fulfilled or the process has been set in motion to fulfil them. If this is so, why do tribal communities continue to take the streets to demand their Constitutional rights, including the political reservations?” Govind Shirodkar demanded to know.
Adv John Fernandes pointed out that both Manguesh Gaonkar and Dilip Velip had sacrificed their lives for the cause of the ST communities, but lamented that the long-pending demands have not been resolved to date. “Both Manguesh and Dilip had become martyrs in the 2011 Balli agitation. It is sad to note that even after 13 long years, most of the demands of the tribal communities have still not been resolved,” he lamented.
Adv Joseph Vaz reminded that once any community is notified as a Scheduled Tribe, it is the duty of the Government under the Constitution of India to provide them with their constitutional rights. “However, the STs of Goa have been deprived of their constitutional rights for two decades. We have been eyewashed with only a few schemes and all our constitutional rights are put under the carpet. The major issues like notification of scheduled areas, political reservation, Tribes Advisory Council, Forest Rights Act, reservation in employment and education, filling of backlog, 12% budgetary provision, setting up planning authority, availability of basic amenities like road, quality education, uninterrupted electricity supply, drinking water etc. are biting the dust,” he said.
