Rupesh Samant

Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Apr 19: With only few days remaining for Lok Sabha elections in Goa, a union of mining dependents has appealed to the people affected by the closure of the industry to 'vote as per your conscience'.

Goa Mining People’s Front (GMPF), an umbrella organization of people who are left jobless after closure of mining industry, has said that the voters should first review the incidents that happened after stopping of the industry, before deciding their vote.

Both Goa’s Lok Sabha constituencies and three Assembly constituencies will go for voting on April 23.

GMPF president Puti Gaonkar said that the union has not been supporting any political party. “We are not asking the people who to vote or who not to. Let them decide as per their conscience,” he said.

“But while doing that, they should also consider the events that happened after closure of mining industry in March last year. They should vote as per their wisdom,” he said.

In the past, GMPF had expressed their anguish against failure of BJP MPs to address their issue. The union has been demanding that the Central government should pass an amendment to existing mining law to resume the industry.

Supreme Court in March last year had quashed 88 mining leases bringing to halt the entire industry, affecting around two lac people dependant on it.