National secy says no compromise on graft * Party gets huge response in Aldona
Photo Credits: AAP will contest in all 40 seats, won’t compromise on corruption: Gupta
MAPUSA
The Aam Aadmi Party’s national Secretary Pankaj Gupta on Sunday said the party will contest in all the 40 constituencies in Goa but will never compromise on corruption.
“We need 40 good candidates in Goa. We will ensure that AAP will contest in all the 40 seats but we will never compromise on corruption,” Gupta said while addressing a huge AAP meeting at Aldona on Sunday evening.
After Benaulim, AAP got a huge response for its public meeting in Aldona with more than 800 people listening to the leaders with rapt attention.
“We have shown in Delhi what people power can do. Our workers from all over the country came to Delhi to help us during the election and 131 countries offered financial help to us by way of funds. That’s how we made it,” Gupta said.
He said the Delhi election was fought with just Rs 20 crore and that the same model would be used to fight the election in Goa.
Placing the Delhi government’s record before the gathering, Gupta said in one month 50 bureaucrats were put behind bars for corruption.
“We have walked the talk by sacking one of our own ministers on corruption charge,” he said.
Good governance means providing the basics to the people and that’s what the Delhi government has done, he said and listed free water and new hospitals set up in Delhi as game changers.
The dynamic AAP member, Dr Oscar Rebello stressed on the need to take the AAP idea deep inside every village in Goa.
“We need to take Aam Aadmi Party message forward in Goa, but the government thinks we are 'bonde' (nuts). Tomorrow this government may turn around and say we are not Goans,” Dr Rebello said to a thunderous applause.
“The politicians in our country have a very uncanny way of running a democracy,” the doctor from Panaji said.
“At the time of election, politicians become 'sevaks' (servants) and voters become 'malik' (bosses). And after the election it’s vice versa,” he said. But now in Goa casinos, builders, drugs, mining, etc, have become “super maliks”, he added.
“Our workers work freely and they are our 'maliks' and we respect our 'sevaks',” Dr Rebello said.
“Goa will be yours only when you understand the difference between a 'malik' and the 'sevak',” he added.
He hit out at both the oldest national parties in the country for trying to loot the 'aam aadmi' for their own interest.
“Congress is corrupt and BJP is seeped with Hindutva ideology,” he hit back.
Dr Sonia, a resident of Aldona, called the current government, as a government run by lobbies of builders, casinos, mining, drugs, etc.
“This government has betrayed the people of Goa on the Regional Plan and all other basics,” she said.
Bruno Fernandes, Tony Fernandes, M S Rizvi, Pio D’Souza were other Aldona residents who spoke at the meeting.
AAP Goa founder, Dinesh Vaghela, national joint secretary of AAP, Sanjay Kansal, state convener, Rajeshree Nagarsekar also spoke.
