PANAJI
As the Centre rejects Goa’s proposal for political reservation to Scheduled Tribe (ST), the community members have threatened to boycott the forthcoming Lok Sabha election 2024, if the government fails to reserve assembly seats for them before the parliamentary polls.
United under the banner of the 'Mission Political Reservation for Scheduled Tribe of Goa' (MPRSTG), the community has been demanding political reservation based on the 2011 census, according to which the ST comprises 10.27 per cent of the State’s total population.
Speaking to The Goan, MPRSTG President John Fernandes said that the “readjustment” formula that the Centre has cited while rejecting Goa’s proposal is not applicable for the State considering that no political reservation was ever granted to the ST community in the State.
“Centre needs to reconsider their decision. If Centre fails to notify political reservation for us before the Lok Sabha election then we will boycott the polls,” Fernandes said.
He also recalled that as assured on the Floor of the House, the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant should lead an all-party delegation to Delhi pressing for political reservation for ST. “We are not going to keep quiet till our demand is met,” he said.
The MPRSTG has now decided to hold village-wise meetings to create awareness among the tribal community to unitedly boycott the polls.
