ST leaders threaten stir if govt doesn’t push for reservation

The group has threatened to march to the residence of the Speaker with the ST leaders and community members from Canacona and other parts of Goa to remind him about his powers and duties as the Speaker of the Assembly, with Mission President Adv Joao Fernandes saying the Speaker should stay loyal to the community and not just to his party.

Mission Secretary Rupesh Velip said Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has failed to take any positive steps after giving assurance on the floor of the Assembly five months ago that he would lead an all-party delegation to the Centre. 

“Hence, we believe that it is the duty of the Speaker of the House, Ramesh Tawadkar, to fulfil the assurance given by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who also holds the portfolio of Tribal Welfare. There have been no efforts put in by Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar to get this resolution implemented,”  Velip said.

“Since last 62 years i.e. post-Goa Liberation, Goan ST Community has been deprived of the fundamental rights, basic life support facilities, Tribal Sub Plan funds, land rights, Forest Rights Cases, job backlogs, quality education, agricultural benefits, etc, by the government. This is the reason why reservation in the  Assembly is a must so that elected representatives from the reserved seats raise the community issues and give justice to the community,” Velip added.

He pointed out that the Mission Political Reservation for Scheduled Tribes of Goa, which is supported by 16 ST organisation, had launched ‘ULGULAAN’ (JAN ANDOLAN) movement with thousands of people on November 15, 2023, at Azad Maidan, Panaji, to set an ultimatum to the government so that a notification is issued to reserve seats for STs in Assembly before the 2024 parliamentary elections. 

“Mission has aggressively run its ULGULAAN movement for tribal rights in the last one and half months and completed around 70 meetings in ST-dominated villages in different parts of Goa. Meetings were held in Poriem, Ponda, Cumbarjua, Sanquelim, Cuncolim, Canacona, Sanguem, Quepem, Priol and some parts of Salcete. This movement is receiving support of thousands of people and they are joining this mass movement every day and are also ready to come on streets as and when required,” he said.

Velip added: “There are approximately 1.76  lakh ST voters with a sizeable ST population in 24 constituencies across Goa and can make a difference in forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. The Mission is successfully running the campaign to assert the demand of political reservation before the declaration of Lok Sabha elections 2024.”

Saying that the Mission had recently launched ‘Chalo Canacona Campaign’ in the constituency represented by Speaker Tawadkar, who also belongs to the ST community, Velip said the Mission Team was shocked to know that many villages like Avali, Nadkem, Ponsulemoll, Keri, Tirwal, Vavurla, etc, from Canacona Taluka do not have a motorable road. 

“The poor villagers and their school-going children are facing hardships due to non-availability of basic amenities such as potable water, tarred roads, schools, electricity, toilets, health facilities, mobile network, etc. In some villages, villagers do not have access to emergency services due to non-availability of roads. During medical emergencies, there is no other option other than lifting the patient on a chair to take them to the hospital by walking for hours,” he said.

He added: “Many have lost their lives due to lack of motorable roads which delays taking patients to the hospital. There are cases wherein pregnant women have delivered on the way to the hospital. Surprisingly, these issues have never been highlighted or discussed in the Goa Assembly after Goa's liberation.”