MARGAO
Anti-coal activist Freddy Travasso has on Thursday embraced the Goa Forward party, with party Chief Vijai Sardesai making a call to the social activists to join the regional party to take the ongoing battle to protect the State to a logical conclusion.
The anti-coal activist from Sao Jose de Areal village has been a prominent face of the anti-coal agitation over the last four years. He is one of the activists, who is facing trial for participating in the historic Chandor midnight agitation against coal filed by the Railways and the Goa Police.
Freddy told the media after joining the regional party, that there’s a need to fight the battles to save Goa on the streets as well as in the Assembly. “While we have been fighting on the streets to save Goa, the Goa Forward had taken the issues in the Goa Legislative Assembly. The Goa Forward party is the only party that has espoused all the public issues in the Assembly,” he said.
Welcoming Freddy into the party, the Gao Forward chief said while the activists have been fighting on the streets to save Goa, their voice normally does not echo inside the Assembly due to many reasons. “Only a regional party can help save Goa. The National party has their agendas and is doing the bidding for its leaders in Delhi. We are a regional party rooted to Goem and Goemkarpon,” he added.
Saying that Freddy has taken a big step in the right direction, Sardesai has given a call to the activists to join the regional party, promising that the party will work shoulder-to-shoulder with the activists in the battle to protect Goa from destruction.
‘Party bracing to challenge Ordinance in HC’
MARGAO: Saying that the ongoing battle against the government’s controversial Ordinance is not over yet, Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai has said the party is bracing up to challenge the Ordinance in the High Court.
He said the party has decided to test the efficacy of the Ordinance in High Court because it has huge ramifications, saying the objective of the Ordinance will sooner rather than later be extended to the village panchayats as well.
“The Ordinance has a long-term effect. The government has brought the Ordinance to satisfy the ego of one person, who had defected into the BJP after betraying the Gods. If losing the MMC poll election is a provocation when Digambar Kamat is yet to become a Minister, just imagine what would happen after his induction into the Cabinet,” he said.
