Panaji : The Goa Children of Freedom Fighters’ Association demanded that employment be given to freedom fighters’ children else they would continue to protest till January 21 and thereafter begin an indefinite hunger strike from January 22. Association’s president Shivaji Shet on Monday along with freedom fighters Suresh Parudkar, Nagesh Chari and freedom fighters’ children addressed the press at Azad maidan, Panaji where they commenced their protest
Speaking about the plight of the Goan freedom fighters and their children Shet said “We have been giving memorandums to the Govt since 2019 asking to provide employment but the govt has turned a blind eye. During Late Manohar Parrikar’s tenure as chief minister he had assured that we would get employment within 18 months but the promise was not fulfilled. Now on Goa@60 Liberation day celebration on 19 December 2020 none of the freedom fighters were invited for the Program and were not even given the honour to sit along with President of India” lamented Shet
Shivaji Shet also inferred that, “Govt says there are 250 Children of Freedom fighters but we have found out under RTI that there are merely 97 such children” “In 1996 the government had declared in assembly that freedom fighters’s children be given jobs but now many still remain unemployed.”
