Velingkar was speaking at a meeting in Mayem on Saturday, which was attended by around 2,000 people, including Nagesh Karmali, Adv Swati Kerkar, and Pandurang Nadkarni.
“We have supported BJP all these years and have given two deadlines. If they cannot resolve the issue by October 2, we will give a strong option to the public,” Velingkar stated.
He came down heavily on Parrikar and blamed him for giving grants to English medium schools. He said, “This has now become a public agitation and the government has to face the public during the next elections. He also blamed Parrikar for not appointing an Academic Authority to decide the issue.
Pandurang Nadkarni stated that even UNESCO had stressed upon education in the mother tongue. He also highlighted the importance of regional languages.
“Parents have the right to educate their children in any language, but should not use government money to destroy their culture,” Nadkarni said.
Swati Kerkar stated that the youth are with BBSM, and the BJP is distorting the issue by claiming that the agitation is only of old people. She explained in detail the background of the MoI issue and claimed that the BJP is not trustworthy.
Claiming that the government is fooling the public, Nagesh Karmali said, “The government is claiming that it has given grants to minority schools, but actually it is trying to divide the people.”
He also questioned whether the mother tongue of the minority was English and asked if the minority MLAs had read the MoI promise on the manifesto before filing their nominations.
“We want security for our language and culture. The BJP should decide whether it wants power for another term or it wants to go home,” Karmali added.
Pundalik Nayak stated, “The MoI issue has become the issue of the public and it will decide whether the BJP remains in power or not.”
Fr Mousin Ataide, in his speech, also demanded a stop to the grants to English medium schools.
