UTAA chief Prakash Velip addressing a meeting at Balli on Friday. Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
The United Tribal Associations Alliance (UTAA)on Friday warned that the tribal community would work towards bringing about achange in government in the 2027 Assembly elections, just as it did in 2012,over the failure to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities their constitutionalrights, including political reservation.
UTAA chief Prakash Velip went a step further,cautioning the tribal community that the government could scrap existingreservations for STs, including those in panchayats and Zilla Panchayats, aswell as reservations in government jobs and promotions, if the community failedto fight for political reservation in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Making a clarion call to Scheduled Tribecommunities across Goa to prepare for another agitation to secure theirconstitutional rights, Velip said the 2027 Assembly election would be a crucialmilestone in the history of the ST movement in the state.
“Let us all wake up from our slumber and getready for the battle. The month of November is crucial for our movementdemanding political reservation,” he said while addressing an awareness meetingat Balli on Friday.
Accusing the government of betraying thetribal community, Velip alleged that it had failed to effectively present thecase for political reservation before the High Court.
“The government counsel did not present ourcase. Now the government is saying that we will get justice in the SupremeCourt. On what basis is the government assuring us that we will get justice?”he questioned.
Velip also questioned the government's failureto place the report of the Registrar General of India before the High Court anddemanded that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant explain why the crucial report wasnot submitted.
He further sought an explanation from theChief Minister on how he had announced, a day before the High Court verdict,that the four Assembly constituencies of Quepem, Sanguem, Priol and Nuvem wouldbe reserved for the ST community.
“On what basis did the Chief Minister make thepublic statement that these four seats would be reserved for STs a day beforethe High Court decision? This remains a mystery,” Velip said.
He added that when a UTAA delegation visitedthe Election Commission of India's Goa office, it was informed that the stategovernment had not forwarded the crucial information regarding the STpopulation to Delhi.
