MARGAO
In a significant political development, the Lotus has bloomed in Paroda “ the village panchayat in Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao fiefdom Cuncolim constituency on Tuesday.
Days after the Paroda panchayat slipped away from the Yuri Alemao camp after Sarpanch Paulina Fernandes and Deputy Sarpanch Shailesh Jotkar were voted out of office in a no confidence motion, a BJP-backed panel has bounced back in the panchayat saddle on Tuesday.
In the elections held for the vacant posts, Rajeshree Gaonkar and Natalino Francisco Vissoscar were declared elected the sarpanch and deputy sarpanch after they defeated their rivals by identical margin of 4-3 votes.
Moments after the duo were declared elected by the Presiding Officer, Pradeep Tamankar, ex-Cuncolim BJP MLA Clafacio Dias along with BJP supporters came to extend wishes to the new sarpanch and deputy sarpanch.
After greeting the four-member group comprising of Rajeshree Gaonkar, Natalino Vissoscar, Deepak Kharangate and Manisha Naik with flower garlands, Clafacio said, “God is still alive. There was dictatorship at the Paroda panchayat. The people of Paroda had given my panel the mandate to run the panchayat, but they had split our panel and formed the panchayat.”
Conceding that his panel has bounced back in the saddle after they received support from Rajeshree Gaonkar, Clafacio said, “we invited her in our group in the interest of the village. She was only given false promises that she would be made the sarpanch. We will ensure that the new panchayat will work for the entire village without any discrimination.”
He said Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has promised all help to usher development of Paroda village.
Newly-elected Sarpanch Rajeshree Gaonkar has promised to usher all round development of the village without any discrimination. “We will take all the panchayat members and the people into confidence for the development and progress of the village,” she added.
Deputy sarpanch Natalino Vissoscar made no bones of the fact that the new panchayat body is aligned to the BJP and former MLA Clafacio Dias. “No MLA since the time of Joaquim Alemao had ever discriminated against any panchayat member in the village development. But, we had to virtually undergo torture in the last few months. The MLA should have paid personal interest in what was happening in the panchayat. Though Rajeshree belonged to the Yuri panel, she decided to support the new panel in the interest of the village,” she added.
