the goan I network
PANAJI
Barely a day before some of their leaders they leave for Delhi as part of an “all-party” delegation to meet central government leaders on the mining issue, the Congress continued to be a divided house with Curtorim legislator raising questions about the purpose of the visit and Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar claiming that he would persist in being part of the delegation because of the commitments he made to mining dependents.
Speaking to reporters, Reginaldo said the delegation neither has the confidence nor approval of the people and he as an MLA has not been informed about what the proposal is, who is behind it and whether the people of Goa have been taken into confidence before the decision was taken.
“Nothing is being told to the people. Is it going to profit the people of the State and how is it going to profit? We are elected representatives, we should know this. For so many years mining was being done through these same leases and, if till today they (those who protested) are ‘dependents’ it is a shame for the government,” Reginaldo said.
“We have to protect the people’s interest we cannot protect the interest of a few. We will support the dependents, we will support everybody let us come to talks,” Reginaldo said.
On the other hand, Kavlekar said that he was in favour of the delegation and that he, being a representative of the Quepem constituency which is in the heart of the mining belt would have to take the concerns of his people to Delhi.
“On the day the mining dependents were protesting at Azad Maidan I had personally gone to meet them and promised to take up the issue. It would not be prudent to withdraw at the last moment,” Kavlekar said.
As things stand, Kavlekar will be the lone Congressman in the delegation to Delhi with another vocal legislator in favour of mining being continued -- Pratapsingh Rane -- saying he is sick and hence would not make the trip.
The delegation which will be led by Ramakrishna “Sudin” Dhavalikar and Vijai Sardesai will also have as members legislators who represent constituencies from the mining belt.
The delegation which has sought appointments with the Prime Minister and Union Mines Minister will also meet Union Minister Nitin Gadkari who looks after Goa’s affairs.
The appointments with the Prime Minister and the Union Mines minister are yet to be confirmed.
The Congress Legislative Party remained inconclusive on the issue of the latest Supreme Court order on mining with the partymen voicing different opinions on the issue.
While senior party leader and former Chief
Minister Pratapsingh Rane was absolutely against an auction as “anyone will come in and export it as they like”, Reginaldo Lourenço said not only should Goans get the value of their ore, but any attempts to dilute the Supreme Court judgement would create further problems down the line.
“We should not go in for an auction. Anyone will come in and they will export it as they like. It is not like you can just come in and sell. I have seen mining over the last 60 years. The miners have built goodwill with the exporters over the years. At the end of the day mining adds to the economy and promotes jobs,” Rane said.
Lourenço, on the other hand, warned that any other method would risk the industry being stopped all over again. “My stand remains the same,” Lourenço said when asked whether he stuck by his earlier publicly stated stand that the mines should be auctioned. “Whatever we do has to be according to what the Supreme Court said. Once again the state should not make the mistake of restarting mining like the BJP did the last time and put people in trouble again. The mines should be auctioned. But whether you want to restrict that to Goans or restrict the kind of people who participate can always be decided,” Lourenço said.
