Tawadkar to lead delegation to meet Solicitor General
Panaji: The Goa government has decided to approach the Supreme Court to safeguard the process of granting political reservation to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community in the Goa Legislative Assembly, following an interim order passed by the High Court of Bombay at Goa.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday to discuss the legal implications of the High Court’s interim order and chalk out the next course of action on the long-pending demand for political reservation for the ST community.
In a major setback to the government’s efforts to re-align Assembly seats before the 2027 state elections, the High Court on Thursday restrained the Census Commissioner from notifying ST population figures for the state.
The Friday meeting was attended by Goa Legislative Assembly Speaker Dr Ganesh Gaonkar, Tribal Welfare Minister Ramesh Tawadkar, Advocate General Devidas Pangam, BJP Goa president Damodar Naik, Goa Law Commission chairman Adv Narendra Sawaikar and prominent leaders and representatives of the ST community.
After detailed deliberations, the meeting unanimously resolved to approach the Supreme Court and take all necessary legal steps to protect the interests of the ST community and ensure that the reservation process moves forward.
As an immediate step, a delegation led by Tawadkar will travel to New Delhi to meet Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta. The delegation will discuss the legal course of action and the further proceedings to be initiated before the Supreme Court.
Sawant reiterated that the state government “remains firmly committed to securing political reservation for the Scheduled Tribe community in the Goa Legislative Assembly”.
After the High Court’s interim order on Thursday, Sawant had said that the Goa government will urge the Centre to approach the Supreme Court to protect the interests of the ST community amid legal hurdles to implementing reservation for the community in the Goa Legislative Assembly.
On Friday, Sawant said the government had consistently pursued the long-pending demand with the central government and would continue to make every possible effort to overcome the legal hurdles in the matter.
Sawant also reaffirmed the government’s resolve to ensure political reservation for the ST community ahead of the forthcoming 2027 Goa Legislative Assembly elections.
Friday’s high-level meeting was held in the wake of demands from a section of the ST community that the Goa government, if really interested in securing political reservation for the community, must pursue legal options at the earliest.
