Tawadkar promised talks with State and Central leaders on implementation of Political Reservation Act, 2025
SANGUEM
The Mission Political Reservation for Scheduled Tribes of Goa has temporarily suspended its protest for 10 days following an assurance from Tribal Welfare Minister Ramesh Tawadkar.
In a statement, Mission Political Reservation for Scheduled Tribes of Goa President Adv Joao Fernandes and Govind Shirodkar said the group had been holding a dharna-andolan since May 11 at the Directorate of Tribal Welfare, Shramshakti Bhawan in Panaji. The protest was demanding an immediate notification announcing the implementation date of the Political Reservation Act, 2025, related to reservation for Scheduled Tribes in the Goa Legislative Assembly.
Last week, a delegation met Tawadkar and raised concerns over the continued delay in implementing the legislation, which they described as historic for the Scheduled Tribe community.
During the meeting, the minister reportedly assured the delegation that he would personally coordinate with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and hold discussions with the Central leadership on the issue.
On Sunday, Tawadkar informed the delegation that he had already discussed the matter with the Chief Minister and would be visiting Delhi on May 23 and 24.
He also said he was actively following up the issue and that a delegation of Scheduled Tribe leaders would be invited to Delhi once a meeting with the concerned Central leaders is confirmed.
Tawadkar appealed to the Mission members and the Scheduled Tribe community to trust the process and temporarily withdraw the agitation to allow constructive discussions with the State and Central governments.
Following the minister’s assurance and appeal, the Mission decided to suspend the dharna-andolan for the next 10 days.
During this period, the Mission said it would continue discussions with the State and Central governments to ensure that the notification for implementation of political reservation for Scheduled Tribes in Goa is issued at the earliest.
The Mission also noted that the State government will observe ‘Prerna Din’ on May 25 at Ambaulim in Quepem to mark the death anniversary of late youth leaders Mangesh Gaonkar and Deelip Velip, who were martyred during the UTAA agitation at Balli.
The Mission has demanded that the long-pending issue of political reservation for Scheduled Tribes be taken up during the ‘Prerna Din’ programme and that concrete steps be taken for its implementation.
