PONDA: Incessant rains could not dampen the spirit and people turned out in huge numbers to attend BBSM’s Ponda meeting on Sunday. Subhash Velingkar, convenor of BBSM, at the Farmagudi meeting thanked MGP for its support on the Medium of Instruction (MoI). He went on to urge the MGP to snap its ties with the BJP, which he said had not kept its word and had made several U-turns in this regard.
The meeting was held at Gopal Ganpati Hall and was largely attended by MGP workers and Marathi language supporters from Ponda, Marcaim and Priol constituencies. Also present were Ponda MLA Lavoo Mamlatdar and MGP MLA Deepak Dhavalikar. Others who were present at the meeting included Pandurang Nadkarni, Swati Kerkar, Subash Desai, Kavlem Sarpanch Rajesh Kavlekar, Kundai Sarpanch Vidya Kundaikar, Durbhat Sarpanch Ganpath Naik, Bandora Sarpanch Nayan Naik, Marcaim Sarpanch Manoj Naik, Anand Shirodkar, Hridaynath Shirodkar, Bandora Zilla Panchyat member Chitra Fadte and Dr Ketan Bhatikar.
Velingkar went on to say the second phase of the agitation will be a major decisive factor keeping in mind the Assembly polls. He also said if any BJP worker loved his/her mother tongue they should come forward and join the agitation. He said it was a matter of love for the language. He said if MGP can take a stand in this regard, other political parties too should realise the importance of the matter. He said the people of the state have been hurt by several betrayals.
He went on to say, “We will not allow Goa to become like Nagaland and Mizoram where English is MoI in these two states.”
Velingkar said there should not be two laws for people of different religions in Goa. After all, people of the state, in the wider sense, are all Goans and everyone fought for the liberation of Goa. Only because of English as MoI, our culture is on the verge of extinction. It is not only the Hindus who are suffering, but also Catholics, as the younger generation lacks knowledge of our culture.
Ponda MLA Mamlatdar said withdrawal of grants from English Schools will be top on his agenda. He also said the party’s general body had also taken a resolution to support local languages as MoI and this matter will be taken up in the Assembly’s Monsoon session which starts from Monday. He said MoI in mother tongue at the primary level helps a student to understand and learn English better at a later stage.
