the goan I network
MARGAO
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Churchill Alemao on Wednesday virtually threw a gauntlet at the rival Congress to win the two Zilla seats in Benaulim constituency, asserting that he has full trust and faith his candidates will win.
Churchill singled out South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha in his criticism, reminding the MP how he (Sardinha) rose to become the Chief Minister with the support of the BJP and late Manohar Parrikar.
Taking offence to Sardinha’s statement that the NCP in Goa is in the pocket of the BJP government, Churchill lambasted the South Goa MP saying people of Goa have not forgotten how the MP had become the Chief Minister of Goa.
Addressing the media, the Benaulim MLA said Sardinha should speak the truth and stop misleading the people at election time. “Sardinha should tell the people of Goa on the bonds issues. He should explain how he had become the Chief Minister with whose support. The MP should also explain to the people how he was involved in giving a push to the Mopa airport,” Churchill demanded while holding the MP responsible for bringing the BJP to power in Goa.
On the other hand, Churchill claimed that he has only extended issue-based support to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to take up development projects in his constituency and to support a leader hailing from the Bahujan Samaj. “I was the first MLA to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Act. I have been against Goa Miles taxi service to protect the interests of locals eking out a living by plying taxis,” he said and demanded to know whether Sardinha had ever raised these issues in the Parliament and outside.
Saying that the NCP has saved the Congress in Maharashtra after Sharad Pawar got the alliance government, Churchill said Congress would have been a big zero in Maharashtra had Pawar not played his role in government formation.
He did not spare Congress MLA Reginaldo Lourenco, saying the Curtorim MLA should face him head-on instead of visiting his constituency after sunset. “Congress had put me and my brothers in jail. The BJP also put me in jail while sparing others simply because of class equations,” he added.
NCP Colva ZP candidate Vania Baptista called upon the people to strengthen the NCP by electing the party candidates. “I decided to contest the ZP election after seeing the social work put in by Churchill,” she said.
