MARGAO: The ‘Mission Political Reservation For Scheduled Tribes of Goa’ (MPRSTG) has decided to urge gram sabhas to pass resolutions demanding political reservation for Scheduled Tribes (ST) in Goa before the notification for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections is issued. The ST community has firmly stated its intent to boycott the Lok Sabha elections in 2024 if this demand remains unmet.
A special meeting convened by MPRSTG was held late Saturday evening in Margao. Around 16 affiliated ST associations, along with taluka-level committees of the MPRSTG, came together to strongly advocate for ST political reservation.
The meeting attendees also resolved to conduct village-level meetings to mobilise the ST community, with the initial gathering scheduled to take place in Sankhali, the constituency of CM Pramod Sawant. Advocate Joao Fernandes, President of MPRSTG, emphasised the seriousness of their cause, pledging to continue the fight until justice is served. “We expect the government to conclude all essential formalities for declaring political reservation for the ST community well in advance of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections,” he said.
Fernandes added that the date for the Sankhali meeting will be announced shortly.
