Banjaras might move SC Commission

PANJIM: A day after Tourism Minister Manohar (Babu) Azgaonkar refused to apologise for his comments against the Lamani community, the All Goa Banjara Samaj on Saturday said they might approach the Scheduled Caste (SC) commission. Speaking to Herald, Goa Banjara Samaj General Secretary Ganesh Lamani said, “Since the Tourism Minister has refused to apologise for his comments against our community, we held a meeting which will continue tomorrow and a decision will be taken whether to approach the SC Commission and we are also planning a strike.” He added, “We have also appealed to the Chief Minister of Goa to issue necessary instructions to the concerned minister not to create unnecessary problems to the Banjara community since they are living here for more than 50 years and are contributing to Goa’s economy. If there is illegality on the beach, the concerned persons should be punished but the entire community should not be targeted.” The association said that instead of saying Lamanis are creating nuisance on the beaches, the minister should have made a general statement that whoever is found guilty of illegal activities on the beach will be punished.