Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Ahead of the 2027 Goa Assembly elections, the Marathi Rajbhasha Nirdhar Samiti has intensified its efforts to consolidate Marathi-speaking voters into a strong political bloc. The panel has renewed its demand for official language status for Marathi and urged the government to act, warning that inaction could lead to its resignation.
Speaking at a press conference, Samiti convenor Subhash Velingkar said the movement to promote Marathi must now translate into political leverage. He announced Phase 2 of a state-wide agitation under the slogan “Now or Never”, with public meetings scheduled in major cities including Panaji, Margao, Ponda, and Vasco.
As part of the campaign, the Samiti plans to collect around five lakh signatures, which will be submitted to the President of India to push for Marathi to be recognised as a co-official language alongside Konkani.
Velingkar criticised the current government led by Pramod Sawant, accusing it of repeatedly misleading Marathi supporters. He highlighted the scrapping of the Rs 400 per student monthly support scheme for Marathi schools, saying it has undermined the language’s growth.
He also alleged that Marathi was excluded from question papers in recent government recruitment exams involving nearly 40,000 candidates, describing it as deliberate neglect by the BJP-led administration.
