MARGAO
Leaders of Scheduled Tribes on Sunday made a moot question for the government to answer “ if the three communities of Gowdas, Kunbis and Velips were notified as Scheduled Tribes in 2003, why these ST communities have been denied political reservations during the last two decades?
In fact, a joint meeting of All Goa ST organizations, intellectuals, representatives, prominent ST leaders and political leaders at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao on Sunday set a deadline for the government to either grant political reservations to the ST communities before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls failing which they threatened to take chalk out the future course of action.
The ST leaders pointed out that given the BJP is ruling at the Centre and Goa, the situation is conducive to giving political reservations to the ST communities. They pointed out that the non-constitution of the Delimitation Commission no longer holds good, more so when the Centre had set up the Delimitation Commission for Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Rupesh Velip said the ST communities have still not got the political reservations when the three communities were notified as ST communities over two decades ago.
“The Indian Constitution provides for political reservations for the ST communities depending on the population. Sadly, the ST communities are looking for the day when the Constitutional mandate for political reservations is implemented in letter and spirit,” he said.
Activist Rama Kankonkar said the time has come for the ST communities to fight for their rights. “The Lok Sabha election is just a year away and the BJP, which is ruling in Delhi and Goa have one year to implement the Constitutional mandate for political reservations,” he said, warning that the ST communities will take a united call in the event the political reservations for the STs does not become a reality before 2024 polls.
The ST leaders pointed out that the Ministry of Law and Justice vide notification dated March 6, 2020, constituted the Delimitation Commission for the delimitation of Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland. Sadly, Goa was not considered in the said notification, they added.
They recalled that a representation was submitted to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice and Election Commission of India last year, reminding them of the Constitutional mandate, but nothing has been communicated to them to date.
The ST communities have been demanding that Parliament passes the Bill for the readjustment of representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliament and Assembly constituencies and to constitute the Delimitation Commission for delimitation of Assembly and Parliamentary Constituencies in Goa.
They had also called for the promulgation of an Ordinance by the President of India on the lines of the readjustment of representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies (third), Ordinance, 2013.
