With Marathi as its philosophy, MGP wanted to merge Goa with M’rashtra: Luizinho

PANJIM: Former Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro said that the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), which was ruling post-Liberation, with Marathi language as its philosophy, wanted to merge Goa with Maharashtra.

He said that even after the Opinion Poll of 1967, the MGP moved several Bills and resolutions in the Goa Legislative Assembly to make Marathi as the official language of the Union Territory.

Speaking after releasing his book ‘The Battle for Konkani and  Statehood of Goa’, Luizinho Faleiro said that the MGP was elected for four continuous terms before 1980 and its philosophy was that Marathi is the mother tongue of Goa, therefore Goa is a part of Maharashtra and should be merged with the neighbouring State.”

“I would say that MGP was the most popular government because the people of Goa elected them, so they had a fixed ideology. I call them the party, which was popular, but of lost causes. I felt why should I go against the majority of people of Goa, who elected the MGP? Then my inner conviction told me I must take it up and accordingly I penned this book containing 18 chapters, comprising 18 events and dates in chronological order, mentioning the history of the battle for Konkani as the Official Language and for Statehood to be given for posterity,” he added.

He further said, “Another reason why I penned this book is because of the thousands of Goans, who took part in the Konkani agitation. They suffered police atrocities, police lathis, imprisonment, bullets and some of them even sacrificed their lives. Therefore, I dedicate this book to all those who participated in the movement and to those who suffered for the cause of Goans.”

“I remember it was a cold winter morning in January 1980 when I visited Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister at her New Delhi residence and it was the morning darshan as she used to meet anyone at that time. I said Madam, the popular aspiration of the people of Goa is Statehood,” he said.

 “When she was passing by, she passed as if she did not hear me and after meeting everyone, she came back and asked me what I had said,” he added.

Luizinho said, “I said that the popular aspiration of the people of Goa is Statehood. Your party (Congress-I) and our party (Congress-U) had given this assurance to the public, who got us elected and your father (Jawaharlal Nehru) had promised us this. She looked at me and said: “You first decide your language and we will give you Statehood.” Every State was carved out on the basis of what you call ‘Linguistic States’.”

“On my return, I moved a resolution in the party and also in the Goa Assembly, which was a historic one and introduced a bill in the House. Indira Gandhi’s words stirred up and inspired me to take up this cause,” he added.