Team Herald
PANJIM: Gawada, Kunbi, Velip and Dhangar (GAKUVED) federation has warned to work against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if their long pending demand to grant reservation for the ST population in the upcoming general assembly elections is not heeded to.
“The federation claimed that the ST should get 4-5 seats reserved for the Assembly elections as per the ST population in the constituencies. Government should give us the reservation in the forthcoming 2022 elections failing which the Federation will work against the current BJP government to ensure its defeat,” said GAKUVED General Secretary Rupesh Velip at a press conference on Tuesday.
The Federation has further accused the Union government too of denying support to ensure its rights are prevailed. “The Union and State government has opposed the petition in the High Court of Bombay at Goa seeking ST reservations in the upcoming polls. “It clearly appears that the BJP government at the Centre and in Goa is not favouring giving constitutional rights to the tribal community in Goa. BJP has totally neglected this community and we at GAKUVED condemn this approach,” he said.
Despite the facts and figures in place, GAKUVED alleged that BJP government is evading from its responsibility. President Suresh Palkar further added that even after granting ST status to Gawada, Kunbi and Velip in 2003 the community was deprived of political reservation by the State Legislative Assembly. He also alleged that delimitation commission failed to reserve ST seats and that an ordinance issued by the Centre in 2013 was deliberately allowed to lapse by the BJP on forming the government in 2014.