Four Assembly Constituencies to Be Reserved for Tribals in 2027 Goa Polls: CM Sawant – News18

A day after the Union cabinet approved the bill to facilitate reservation to scheduled tribes (ST) in the Goa Assembly, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said that four assembly constituencies would be reserved under this category. Sawant said that the four constituencies would be reserved for STs during the 2027 Assembly polls.

Amid demands from ST members, the central cabinet on Thursday gave its nod to the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes Bill, 2024’, which will empower the census commissioner to notify the population of STs in Goa.

Based on it, the Election Commission will amend the Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies Order, 2008, to make way for ST reservation in the 40-member Goa Assembly Sawant thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the decision and said the issue was pending for over 20 years.

He said it was during the time of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government that the then CM Manohar Parrikar had given tribal status to Gauda, Kunbi and Velip communities. He said that all these communities had protested in 2005 with 12 demands when the Congress was in power at the Centre as well as in Goa. Shame on Congress that they could not fulfil the demands. Two tribals were martyred in the agitation over this under Congress rule, Sawant said.

The CM alleged that Congress had fooled the community by moving three faulty ordinances in 2013 and 2019. Then Congress government did not even pass the Bill, he said adding, I challenge the Congress to show one thing that they have done for the scheduled tribe community.” Sawant said his government has been working for the rights of tribals. A total of 10 per cent of the funds in different departments is reserved for use in areas with a tribal population, he said.

The chief minister said that his government has also been disposing of cases registered under the Forest Rights Act. We had 10,000 cases under FRA of which 2,500 have been disposed of, while the remaining 7,500 are being fast-tracked, he said. The cabinet nod to the bill to reserve seats for STs in the Goa Assembly was announced by Union minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday. Minutes later, Sawant wrote on X, I wholeheartedly thank the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji, for Central Cabinet approval to readjustment of the seats in the Legislative Assembly of the state of Goa for providing reservations to the Scheduled Tribes of the state. I also thank Hon’ble HM Shri @AmitShah Ji for his continued support in giving justice to the ST community in Goa. This is a major victory for the ST community of Goa!,” he added.

The ST community in the state has been demanding reservation in Assembly constituencies. To press for their demand, community leaders under the banner of GAKUVED (Gauda, Kunbi, Velip, Danger) have been on a hunger strike in Panaji since Wednesday.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)