Tawadkar to skip govt’s ST event

Panaji: Speaker of Goa legislative assembly Ramesh Tawadkar on Tuesday said that he will not attend the ‘Prerana Din’ programme to be organised by the state government in association with the United Tribal Association Alliance (UTAA) at Ravindra Bhavan, Curchorem, on Thursday.
Prerana Din is being organised in memory of Dilip Velip and Mangesh Gaonkar, who had sacrificed their lives for the fulfillment of the Scheduled Tribes’ demands in Goa on May 25, 2011.
Tawadkar said that he will be attending ‘Sankalp Din’ held in memory of Velip and Gaonkar at Adarsh gram, Canacona, and organised by Adarsh Yuva Sangh and Balram Education Society.
The speaker said that they have decided to start a trust in the name of Velip and Gaonkar as the ST community has benefited from their sacrifice.
“The government programme will be organised in the morning, while our function is scheduled in the evening on that day. We have been organising the latter function since 2011. I have informed the chief minister that in case the state government and UTAA are organising Prerana Din, then I will not attend the function,” the speaker said.
Tawadkar ruled out politics over the issue, stating that both Velip and Gaonkar were close to him. The speaker said that the government is not indulging in politics, and blamed certain individuals. “Let them play politics,” he said.
He also said that he supported the UTAA agitation from 2005 to 2011 in the interest of the ST community, but things changed after 2012 as he became a minister.
“Some people started criticising me, and I told them that in such circumstances I cannot support them,” he said.