PANAJI:
“No meetings at the residences of the MLAs and ministers. If you want to hold meetings they should be either in the official chamber, in the case of ministers or in the offices of the collectorate. No other person can have meeting in places of his choice,” Parrikar said.
“Ministers can also hold meetings in the department, but not even in an MLA’s office. Officers are meant to be in offices to attend to the people,” Parrikar said.
“Who will be responsible for the safety of these officers in the houses of MLAs or their personal offices? The rule is applicable for everybody and includes MLAs from the ruling parties,” Parrikar said adding that a circular detailing the restrictions would soon be issued.
The decision was met with an angry riposte from the opposition with Ponda MLA questioning the limitations accusing the government of ‘dictatorship’.
He argued that the MLAs have the right to hold meetings including those which involve government officers.
“When we have our constituents, it is important that the JEs (junior engineers) are present so that they can answer questions,” Naik argued.
However, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar would have none of it.
Naik received support from his Congress party with Chandrakant Kavlekar and Luizinho Faleiro rising to support his demand.
