Accuse him of discriminating STs
MARGAO, MARCH 13
The Raia gram sabha was plunged into unprecedented bedlam and uproar after gram sabha members under the banner of Goa State Scheduled Tribes Action Committee protested against the Sarpanch Savio Gomes for meting out injustice and discriminating against the ST community.
Armed with banners and placards, the protesters demanded the resignation of Sarpanch, deputy Pinheiro and panch member Flory Monteiro for insulting the ST community and causing a division in the village by mentioning the name non-STs at the convention held in the village last month.
The ST members made it clear that they were not against the convention held in the village on February 27 by the Raia Villagers Association headed by the Sarpanch. But, they were highly critical of the advertisements and publicity stating that the convention is for the non-ST communities. “You have discriminated against the community on the basis of caste by making mention of the word non-ST. Being the village sarpanch; you have gone against the Indian Constitution. It is not befitting a sarpanch to create divisions in the society”, the members said, while demanding his immediate resignation from the post.
The sarpanch tried to clarify by saying the convention was held with the help of the Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco at the request of the poor from the general category. When the Sarpanch stated that nothing was spoken against the ST community at the convention and that the convention was meant for the general category, the members demanded to know why the convention used the word “non-ST’ Convention, adding that it was done deliberately to heap insult on the Scheduled Tribes.
The gram sabha members demanded the panch members belonging to the ST community to come down from the dais if they believed that injustice was done to the community. Panch members from the community along with panchas Nazareth and Esmeralda heeded to the request, leaving only the sarpanch, his deputy and panch Flory on the dais.
The vociferous members then demanded that the Sarpanch, Pinheiro and Flory leave the dais and demanded their resignation. Arguments ensued between the protestors and the sarpanch for quite some time, before Savio, Pinheiro and Flory finally came down from the dais
Anthony Pango, who addressed the members, said the very mention of the word “non-ST” convention was insulting for the Scheduled Tribes. “No one has the right to speak against any community. The Raia Villagers Association is headed by sarpanch Savio Gomes. We don’t want divisions in our village. We are not against any community, but were only protesting against the sarpanch”, he clarified and asserted that Savio has no moral right to continue in office.
The meeting witnessed a commotion when gram sabha members came face to face with Peter Ferrao. Members told Ferrao that he has no right to speak or participate in the gram sabha meeting since he is not a voter of Raia village, even as Ferrao claimed that he has been paying taxes to the panchayat.
The police also made their presence felt inside the meeting hall, even as the meeting was adjourned to March 27 after Panch members who were asked by the gram sabha to chair the meeting said they will not be able to answer all the queries.
