MARGAO: In a major development, Scheduled Tribes (ST) organisations on Friday resolved to boycott the 2024 Lok Sabha elections if political reservation as they have demanded for is not granted.
At a meeting held at Margao, the ‘Mission Political Reservation for Scheduled Tribes of Goa’ group along with Zilla Panchayat (ZP) members, sarpanchas, deputy sarpanchas, panchas, councillors, executive committee members of 14 ST organisations, and prominent members from ST communities across Goa passed the resolution. Altogether, around 125 ST leaders were present for the meeting.
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“The first resolution was to boycott the 2024 Lok Sabha election if the notification to reserve seats for Scheduled Tribes of Goa in the Assembly before the 2024 Parliamentary election,” said Rupesh Velip, General Secretary of the Mission Political Reservation group.
“It was also resolved to conduct meetings and do awareness at every village/ward wise where there is ST population in every taluka of the State and to explain to the people how we have been denied our constitutional rights and injustice done to us,” Velip added.
At the meeting, taluka level committees were appointed to carry out the awareness activities on the village level in each taluka.
Further discussion was held on the assurance given on March 28, 2023 by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in Legislative assembly that the STs of Goa will get reservation in Assembly in the 2027 election.
