the goan I network
MARGAO
After virtually leading a 16-year long battle on behalf of his community to get the Dhangars Scheduled Tribes status, Deputy Chief Minister Chandrankant Babu Kavlekar says he would use his status in the government to get the long-awaited ST status for his community on par with the Gawdas, Velips and Kunbis.
“For 16 long years, I had led the battle within and outside the Assembly on behalf of my Dhangar community for the ST status along with the Gawdas, Kunbis and Velips. Now, there’s no question of placing the demand before the government since I am a part and parcel of the coalition government,” Kavlekar told the media when asked whether there’s any possibility of the Dhangars getting the ST status given that he is now the state’s Deputy CM.
“The All Goa Dhangar Samaj, of which I am the President, had a general body meeting on Sunday, wherein the issue of getting the ST status was discussed threadbare. I assured my community that since I am part of the government, I will pursue our long-pending demand before the government at the Centre and in Goa,” he said.
He recalled how an all-party delegation had called on the Registrar General of India to make a strong case for the inclusion of the Dhangar samaj into the ST category, adding “since the BJP is ruling in Goa as well as at the Centre, the matter will be pursued with the Union Minister for Tribals and Social welfare to mete out justice to the Dhangars.”
When asked whether he is confident that the Dhangar community will get the ST status within the next six months, Kavlekar replied, “I do not want to set any deadline. May be, if everything goes well, the ST status for the community may even come earlier than expected.”
The Deputy CM had made the delay in according ST status to Dhangars a major election issue for the South Goa Lok Sabha constituency when he was Leader of the Opposition and Congress MLA and had put the BJP on the mat over the delay in meting out justice to the community.
