PANAJI
Accusing the BJP government of betraying Goa’s Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities by delaying political reservation in the State Legislative Assembly, tribal leaders have launched a statewide agitation, warning that the ruling party will face electoral consequences in the 2027 Assembly elections.
The agitation began with a mashal (torchlight) rally at Cumbarjua, where over 300 members of the Gawada, Kunbi and Velip communities gathered and resolved to intensify their campaign across tribal-dominated villages in Goa.
The gathering accused the BJP government of deliberately delaying the process of reserving four Assembly constituencies for STs and alleged that the delay was part of a political strategy to protect the electoral interests of certain sitting MLAs.
The community members declared that the 2027 Goa Legislative Assembly elections would be an opportunity to hold accountable those responsible for denying tribal communities their rightful political representation.
"Our struggle will continue until justice is delivered. The Gawada, Kunbi and Velip communities will neither forget the betrayal nor remain silent. We will demonstrate our democratic strength in 2027," was the collective message conveyed at the meeting.
President of Goenche Rakhandar organisation Rama Kankonkar alleged that the government was deliberately creating hurdles to safeguard the seats of influential BJP legislators. He warned that ST voters would demonstrate their electoral strength in 2027, as he claimed they had done in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by contributing to the defeat of the BJP candidate in South Goa.
The tribal leaders also questioned the BJP's celebrations in 2024, when party leaders had distributed sweets projecting progress on political reservation, asking why the community was still awaiting representation.
Senior journalist and tribal leader Soiru Velip termed the developments a “preplanned betrayal” and questioned the use of 2001 Census figures instead of 2011 data for determining ST political representation. He warned that tribal voters would hold both the BJP and tribal leaders supporting it accountable.
Convenor of Scheduled Tribes of Goa Rupesh Velip highlighted the alleged failure to fill vacancies reserved for ST candidates and demanded transparency in the recruitment backlog and missing reserved posts.
The meeting also raised concerns over the alleged loss of Rs 6,500 crore in Tribal Sub-Plan benefits over four years, besides unresolved tenancy and mundkarial cases affecting tribal families.
The gathering warned that the continued delay in granting political reservation, alleged diversion or underutilisation of tribal welfare funds, unfilled job vacancies and unresolved land-rights issues would have political consequences for the ruling BJP.
The organisers announced that the mashal campaign would travel across Goa, with awareness meetings in tribal villages to mobilise support until the demand for political reservation is fulfilled.
