PANAJI
BJP's two-time Cortalim MLA and former Forest and Environment Minister Alina Saldanha joined Aam Aadmi Party in the presence of AAP national convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi. She is the first BJP legislator to step down during the current session.
Kejriwal said that Alina Saldanha has joined AAP after being fed up with BJP antics, and her addition to AAP will increase the party’s strength on the ground, AAP stated in a press release.
Saldanha has been leading the campaign that opposes three linear projects passing through the Mollem bio-diversity hotspot and has been opposing the double-tracking project that would destroy hundreds of houses in her constituency.
While addressing the media on Friday she said, "BJP is no longer the party of the late Manohar Parrikar or one that late Matanhy Saldanha joined with a lot of hope for the state and people of Goa. In fact, recent developments in the state forced me to take a stand. I had to leave BJP for numerous reasons. The party seems to have forgotten its principles and that's why I joined the AAP which works for the betterment of common people".
"I was feeling suffocated. Even the party also felt that I was an obstruction for their goals which are anti-people. If I am with the people, I can't be with BJP. I decided to join AAP, the party of the common man. The party which I believe puts the common man in the first position before taking any project. I am in Delhi and I have seen the progress that the Kejriwal government has done in Delhi and impressed by this I joined the AAP", she added.
