CANACONA
Hitting out at former BJP minister and ex-Canacona MLA Ramesh Tawadkar for targeting the BJP at a recent meeting, the Canacona BJP block accused their former mentor of being a traitor to his own ST community.
Addressing a news conference on Friday, the Canacona BJP block criticised Tawadkar for claiming that the BJP had been against the Bahujan Samaj and its leaders, adding that his claims that local BJP leaders were in touch with him were also flawed.
“Tawadkar was given BJP tickets four times and whatever he reaped as MLA and minister is because of the BJP and now, he has the audacity to describe the same party an ‘Anti-Bahujan Private Limited Company’. This only shows his vested interests,” said said Canacona BJP Block President Mahesh (Govind) Naik.
“I strongly object to his statement that Canacona BJP block workers are in touch with him,” he said.
Block Secretary Suraj Naik Gaonkar denied that Tawadkar was given injustice by the BJP party.
“Tawadkar could not do justice to either of the four ministries he was given, which compelled the party to deny him a ticket during the 2017 assembly polls,” said Gaonkar.
“If he feels the ST community in Canacona was denied justice because he was not given a party ticket, he should realise that over 200 government posts were filled by ST candidates. But he still could not garner majority of votes in the two ST dominated villages of Gaondondrim and Cotigao. What will he expect to get in other constituencies of South Goa,” wondered Gaonkar, in reaction to Tawadkar’s decision to contest the LS polls.
Satish Painginkar insisted that the Bahujan Samaj was not with Tawadkar and added that Tawadkar had been a traitor to his own ST community.
The BJP block insisted that all councillors, sarpanchas and panchas who had distanced themselves during the last assembly polls were now back in the fold, adding that Tawadkar’s threat to contest LS polls in 2019 would have no impact on BJP’s prospects, either in Canacona or in Sanguem, Quepem and Dharbondara talukas.
Admitting that party functions in Canacona had slowed as the constituency is represented by the Congress MLA, the BJP block said it had begun the initiative to hold booth level meetings to prepare for the 2019 LS polls.
