Team Herald
PONDA: The unemployed children of freedom fighters on Monday held a Tirdi Andolan (funeral procession) at Kranti Maidan, here, by shouting slogans against the government for not providing them jobs for the past 10 years.
They warned the government of boycotting all the government programmes along with freedom fighters on December 19 and to intensify their agitation against the injustice done by the government for the past 10 years by depriving them their rightful jobs reserved for freedom fighters’ children.
“All the children and freedom fighters will boycott government programmes and will gather in large number at Azad Maidan on December 19, to boycott the Liberation Day programme and to intensify their agitation to show their unhappiness against government attitude. Before that we will also hold protest on December 16, at Margao,” informed Freedom Fighters Children’s Association President Shivaji Shet.
The unemployed children of freedom fighters alleged that the government, chief secretary and additional secretary have almost remained dead towards fulfilling their rightful jobs in providing jobs for the freedom fighters’ children.
Shet said, “We have the support of freedom fighters to intensify the agitation at Azad Maidan on December 19. Earlier, we staged protest at Panjim and today we are observing a Black Day by taking a funeral procession of the government who has turned a blind eye and shown injustice by not providing jobs to us.”
“We were assured by government of directly selecting them for government jobs without advertising in the newspapers. However, we were cheated. There is two per cent reservation Under A and B Category and five per cent reservation Under C and D Category but none of them are filled since past 10 years. We had filed an RTI but it is two months now no reply. The government is also not providing roasters,” he added.
“Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had said that there are around 407 children of freedom fighters who are unemployed but as per our information there are 267 unemployed children, Shet mentioned.
He also alleged that one lady had grabbed a job impersonating Nilima Volvoikar, who is the daughter of freedom fighter. This is injustice and demanded a probe.
He said, “There were notifications by government in 1996 and 1998 to provide jobs. Further in 2013, former chief minister Manohar Parrikar had assured to provide jobs to all of them within 18 months. If politicians want to form the government they go to New Delhi at midnight but they were never bothered to spend some time to look into their files. We were also assured to provide plots but don’t know who grabbed those. But forget this plots, we will be satisfied if the government gave us our rightful jobs.”
