On a dramat ic Day-6 of the protest at Azad Maidan, the agitation against Section 39A of the Goa Town and Country Planning Act forced the government into a cali brated retreat, with the St Andre MLA ending his hun ger strike after a tense day marked by pressure, push back and eventual conces sion. What began as another day of defiance evolved into a political standoff that saw the government alternate between warn ings and assurances — a carrot-and-stick approach that protesters said only strengthened their resolve. By Thursday evening, North Goa Collector Ankit Yadav arrived at the pro test site with a letter from the TCP Department stat ing that all change-of-zone proposals initiated under Section 39A in the St An dre constituency stood suspended with immedi ate effect. The first draft, however, was rejected by the fast ing MLA, who objected to the absence of an official letterhead and sought clarity on what “suspend ed” meant — temporary withholding or a complete halt. Hours later, the Collec tor returned at night with a revised communication. The updated assurance, coupled with commit ments from Chief Minis ter Pramod Sawant and Goa Legislative Assembly Speaker Ganesh Gaonkar that the matter would be taken up for a special discussion in the House, broke the deadlock. It has been also understood that the government will not press ahead with the FIRs registered against the protesters. Ending his fast in what he described as good faith, the St Andre MLA made it clear that the battle was far from over. He said that their demand was to scrap Section 39A and that the Chief Minister had assured him that a special discus sion would be held during the Assembly session, fol lowing which a decision would be taken.
He added that he would raise the issue in the House and warned that if Section 39A was not scrapped in the Assembly, the fight would continue. He asserted that the agitation would intensify outside the Assembly and said that, if necessary, he would resume his hunger strike. The developments were widely seen as the government yielding ground in the face of sustained public mobilisa tion, even as FIRs and warnings loomed in the background. Advocate Norma Alvares, who was present when the decision was taken, framed the suspension itself as an ad mission of error. “Section 39A has to go. All nine approv als have been suspended — why? The very suspension is an acknowledgement that 39A is wrong. Otherwise, you wouldn’t suspend them.” “The fast has been broken today, but the struggle will continue. It will continue first in the Assembly, because that is the correct place where legislation is made. My re quest to all the MLAs is: please think like Goans, feel for Goa, and see what 39A can do. If you are true Goans, then you will see that 39A must go.” Dr Oscar Rebello praised the discipline of the protest ers, particularly the youth who sustained the agitation for six days. “Today I have learned what Goan youth are capa ble of. You did it with dignity, and I am proud of the way you carried out the protest.” Environmental activist Claude Alvares underscored the prominent role played by women in recent agitations. “All the recent agitations have witnessed women at the fore front. They have written history. Forget about ministers or MLAs — what they have done, even I could not have done. They are my real heroines.” Earlier in the day, Opposition MLAs met Governor Pu sapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju at Lok Bhavan, pressing for an urgent special session of the Assembly to scrap Section 39A altogether. Venzy Viegas, President of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Goa, warned against attempts to intimidate constitu encies represented by Opposition leaders and cautioned against filing cases against protesters. “We explained to the Governor why a special session of the Assembly is required. The Governor shared our con cern. It is now up to him to direct the government to con vene an urgent session. We appeal to the people of Goa to remain united on this issue. If the government wants to send us to prison on false charges, it may do so. False com plaints were filed against us earlier as well. But the people will not remain silent,” Viegas said. Leader of the Opposition Yuri Alemao urged immedi ate intervention, stating that the Governor has the con stitutional authority to summon the House. Although the Assembly session is scheduled for March 6, he said the deteriorating health of the fasting MLA made urgent dis cussion imperative and described the issue as sensitive enough to have law-and-order implications. Goa Pradesh Congress Committee Vice President Sunil Kawthankar alleged irregularities within the TCP Depart ment. “Files going missing is a common phenomenon in the TCP Department. We held peaceful protests at the TCP Minister’s residence. Not even a flower was plucked from his premises. If threats are issued against Goans, I would like to remind everyone that Goans have even fought against António de Oliveira Salazar,” he said. Protesters also challenged the FIRs filed against them, questioning why they were labelled ‘robbers’ and accused of stealing ten files. They demanded that CCTV footage be examined and that the cases be quashed, insisting that several of those named were not even present at the pro test. Govind Shirodkar of the GAKUVED Federation alleged that full security was in place at the TCP office at the time of the alleged theft. “This suggests that either the police or security officials failed in their duty. FIRs have been registered against individuals who were not even present at the protest. We will write to the Chief Minister and the Governor demanding justice for our people,” he said. While the government’s suspension of all Section 39A change-of-zone cases in St Andre has temporarily diffused tensions, protesters have made it clear that suspension is not repeal. Their demand now extends beyond nine zone changes in a single constituency to the scrapping of Sec tion 39A across Goa.
