MARGAO: Throughout the day it rained and poured in Salcete. But that paled into insignificance of a gentle drizzle compared to the storm that hit the area when news came that the Centre had rejected Goa’s emotive demand of giving it a Special Status to preserve its identity, culture and land.
It triggered an outrage here, the epicentre of the agitation in support of the long standing demand – with reactions ranging from calls for the resignation of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and his cabinet colleague, Alina Saldanha and a plea to Goans to brace up for a sustained struggle to achieve the demand.
At the
political level, the Mickky Pacheco led Goa Vikas Party, which had listed Special Status in its election manifesto, was muted in its reaction. Pacheco, who was holed up in Delhi said he will discuss the issue with the Chief Minister, even as he declined to comment any further without going into the Centre’s decision.
Fr Eremito Rebello, who was closely associated with the movement for Special Status said the Centre’s decision shows yet another U-turn by the BJP and has called for the resignation of Manohar Parrikar, both as Chief Minister and as an MLA. “The ball is now in the court of the MLAs supporting the Parrikar government to either continue or to withdraw support to the government”, Fr Eremito said, adding that the time has now come for the people of Goa to rise up and fight on the issue of special status.
Joseph L Vaz, Secretary of the Navelim Civic and Consumer Forum which had rallied behind the Special Status movement, reminded that Chief Minister had confidently assured Goans that the Centre would bestow Special Status on Goa. “It’s now clear the Centre will not give us Special Status on a platter. We will have to fight it out and make a strong case with the Centre to achieve the dream. Any outsider, whether poor or rich wants to buy land in Goa and settle down. Do you think, the Centre will grant Special Status without a fight when these outsiders have bought land in Goa’, Joseph asked.
The Goans for Goa (GFG) has termed the Centre’s decision not to grant Special Status to Goa as a cruel joke played by those in power on the Goan people.
GFG President Kennedy Afonso said the BJP government and the Chief Minister is fooling the people yet again, and playing with the people’s sentiments. He demanded that Alina Saldanha, should resign as a minister as she had promised the people of Goa, that the BJP govt will deliver Special Status to Goa.
Joint Secretary of the Movement of Special Status for Goa (MSSG) Antonio Alvares said the present dispensation at the Centre is totally unaware of the circumstances under which Goa was conquered and annexed by India. “The assurances given by the Indian Ambassador C S Jha to the United Nations Security Council on the night of December 18, 1961 is crucial. If then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had made a solemn promise that Goa’s identity will be protected and that Goa will not be coerced to join the Indian Union, it was only to echo the inherent rights that any decolonised territory under the UN Declaration of Indigenous peoples Right to Self Determination, resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960.
Activist Sidharth Karapurkar said it is clear that the Delhi government has now learnt to make U-turns from the Goa government.
