PANAJI
It all happened in a single day on Monday.
The agitation launched by members of the Scheduled Tribes community from across the State spilled to the streets as they attempted to march to the Goa Legislative Assembly, the very House in which they are demanding the constitutionally-provided quota of seats for themselves.
They were stopped at Merces by a strong police force but the numbers were so high that the confrontation spewed hours of tension and traffic on this crucial highway connecting to the North of Panaji became a colossal mess through the day.
The tribals were joined in their action by the Opposition political parties at the Merces junction, where Opposition Leader Yuri Alemao and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Velim MLA, Cruz Silva were present to express solidarity with the cause.
Revolutionary Goans Party's (RGP) lone MLA Viresh Borkar even dressed in traditional tribal attire -- a banian, dhoti and pagadi (head gear) -- and entered the legislative assembly to highlight the demands of the ST community.
But by evening, after a 16-member delegation of the 'Mission for Political Reservation' met the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, they announced temporary withdrawal of the agitation claiming he has assured them of the notification of a Delimitation Commission before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Earlier in the morning, thousands of tribals marching towards the Goa Legislative Assembly at Porvorim were stopped at the Merces junction by the police, giving rise to some tense moments.
The protesting community is demanding reservation of seats in the Goa legislative assembly, a legit demand guaranteed by the Constitution, before the next Assembly election due in 2027.
Other demands pertain to the failure of the State and Central governments in ensuring the community gets basic amenities, TSP funds, land rights, forest rights, filling backlog vacancies in government employment, quality education, and agricultural benefits, all again legit under the Constitution..
The community leaders who over the last one year have been agitating under the banner of 'Mission for Political Reservation' have accused the BJP government and chief minister of waiting for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to make a 'fake promise' of reservations.
Interestingly in the evening when the team of ST leaders met Sawant, the latter is said to have assured them that the notification for constituting a 'delimitation commission' for reserving four Assembly seats for the ST Community in 2027 polls will be issued before the announcement of Lok Sabha polls.
According to the delegation of the 'Mission for Political Reservation for ST' which met Sawant along with Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao and other Opposition MLAs, they have withdrawn their agitation for now, in deference to the assurance given by Sawant.
They said, the chief minister told them that he will make a formal announcement in the House while answering the calling attention moved by the Opposition on Saturday instead of Wednesday.
