Team Herald
MARGAO: As part of its campaign to meet all 40 MLAs, the Global Konknni Forum (GKF) delegation on Monday met Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco and submitted two draft amendment bills aimed at getting the government to amend the Official Language Act to ensure Romi Konkani is granted equal status alongside Devanagari script.
The delegation urged him to submit either one of them before the next Goa Legislative Assembly session. GKF President Kennedy Afonso said that the first bill seeks an amendment to Clause C, wherein it should now read as “Konkani means Konkani in Devanagari and Roman Script only”; whereas the second bill calls for the deletion of Clause C entirely, wherein it would just say Konkani is the official language and there is no distinction regarding the script.
GFK also gave Lourenco a draft letter, which they asked him to sign and send to the Commission of Linguistic Minorities using his official letterhead, the way Velim MLA Cruz Silva had already done so.
Afonso stated that he would get back to them about the letter to the Commission and would study the draft amendment bills.
However, there appeared to be a difference in opinion during the meeting between GKF and Lourenco, with the MLA not taking too kindly to the slogan used by GKF for this campaign: ‘Kodel Zai or Romi Zai’.
While Lourenco felt this was a veiled threat, GKF stood by their slogan, adding that the issues they are raising were more important and they want to initiate discussions with all the MLAs.
Lourenco said the demands and questions for Romi Konkani have been raised in the past, by former MLAs including him during various Assembly sessions, but assured that he would push for this bill in the next Assembly session only if there is a consensus amongst other MLAs.
The MLA added that he corrected GFK’s delegations’ assertion that only the Velim MLA had raised the issue or that no other MLA had raised this matter in the Assembly for so many years.