PANAJI
A day after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal took Goa by storm with a massive rally in Panaji, mixed reactions emerged on Monday from various political parties giving a clear indication that the broom could sound alarm bells for the forthcoming Assembly elections in the State.
Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said the AAP cannot be underestimated, even as he stated that it will fill the political vacuum which has been created by political parties.
Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of a function, Parsekar said, “We cannot underestimate AAP. Those who have created political vacuum, it will be filled by them. I do not want to name anyone.”
The BJP State President Vinay Tendulkar demanded an apology from Kejriwal for portraying Goa as a land for drugs, casinos and sex. The Party has also challenged Kejriwal to approach Lokayukta, if there is any corruption in the government.
While Independent MLA and promoter of the nascent Goa Forward Party Vijai Sardesai said the AAP rally should be a wake up call for everyone espousing the cause of alternative politics and occupy the opposition space, Goa Vikas Party supremo Mickky Pacheco said the people of Goa will not be swayed by AAP’s Sunday rally.
On the other hand, the United Goans Democratic Party said AAP put up a good show at Panjim on Sunday, but it was too early to say whether the new party would make inroads into the Opposition space.
Kejriwal on Sunday had lashed out at BJP and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, the then chief minister of Goa, alleging that he failed to fulfil the election promises as far as illegal mining and casinos were concerned.
Reacting to Kejriwal’s statements, Parsekar said, “If they had found any incidents of corruption, then those things wouldn’t have got any importance. Since they don’t get any corruption to point out at, they are lashing out at the government with these unnecessary things.”
“When they speak about casinos, I haven’t brought any casinos. They were brought in the State during the Congress regime. Today, hundreds of casinos can come into the Mandovi and Zuari, but we are not permitting it... driving out investors who have invested in the State before we came to power will send a wrong signal”, said Parsekar.
Strongly stating that he is not defending casinos, he said, “During the mining ban when there was no revenue for the State, this (casino) revenue helped us. Additionally, nearly 2500 youth are working there. It is easy to point fingers, but when you are in a responsible position, you have to look at all factors and take a decision.”
