MAPUSA: One video is going viral on social media in which the Dy speaker and MLA of Calangute constituency, Michael Lobo has assured the Banjara community that those born in Goa will be given SC status after completing certain years. This video clipping is of a meeting that was held by the Banjara Community on Feb 18 in Goa.
However, this statement of Lobo has again made the people of Goa question their own elected representatives. Talking to Herald, this is how people have reacted to this video.
A local P Mandrekar said, “Michael Lobo is not bothered about Goa and moreover about people of Goa. If this community is given status in Goa then there is need that we rethink about the future of our coming generation”.
“Lobo is all set to sell Goa to outsiders by increasing his vote bank. By giving SC status to this community, he wants to permanently settle them down in Goa. If this continues then soon the migrants will call Goans migrants and themselves Goans. If an MLA can make such assurances then we can imagine what will be the status of Goa if he becomes a minister or CM”, another local Pritesh Naik reacted.
Former Calangute Sarpanch Joseph Sequeira, said, “Michael Lobo wants to protect them by giving such status since they are his vote bank. There are different places such as Candolim, Aradi and Parra where this type of people have settled down with help of those who win elections. Lobo is saying that people from this community are already working in different departments. If it is so, then where are our youths supposed to go?”
Ravi Banjara, representative of Calangute Banjara community, said, “We had put forward our demand to Michael Lobo saying that other states such as Karnataka, Maharashtra and 15 more have already given SC status to Banjara community and same should be given to them in Goa.”
If we get SC status then it will help our children in their education and job reservation in Government departments. There are Banjara people who are residing in Goa for past 30 to 40 years and there are more than one lakh permanent Banjara people in Goa. This SC quota will help to increase percentage in school result of our children and job reservation in government offices. We had put forward our demand and Michael Lobo assured us to do so but whether it will happen or not, we cannot say anything about it”.
