Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Goa Congress has questioned Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s reported statement that the responsibility for providing political reservation to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community in Goa rests with the Election Commission of India.
Amarnath Panjikar, Chairman of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee’s Media and Communication Department, said the BJP had repeatedly promised to secure political reservation for the ST community before the 2027 Assembly elections but was now shifting responsibility.
“ST reservation was BJP’s promise, not the Election Commission’s,” Panjikar said, questioning the state government’s accountability over the pending process.
Panjikar pointed out that Sawant had reportedly reiterated his commitment to ST political reservation on May 25, 2026. He also referred to the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Act, 2025, which came into force on August 6, 2026.
While acknowledging progress in the statutory process, Goa Congress said the notification identifying the reserved constituencies remained a crucial step.
The party demanded that the Chief Minister clarify the work completed by the state government, the formalities still pending, the respective responsibilities of the state and central governments and the Election Commission, and the expected timeline for completion.
Panjikar said the Election Commission’s statutory role should not absolve the BJP governments of their responsibility to ensure coordination and transparency.
Goa Congress maintained that political reservation was a matter of constitutional representation and democratic justice for the state’s Scheduled Tribe community, and called on the government to provide clear answers on whether the process would be completed before the 2027 Assembly elections.
