WHERE THEY STAND
* BJP sticks to a safe line of doing what the government says
* Congress says it will put environment first
* Several other parties say they haven’t been invited
* Goa Vikas Party supremo remains unavailable for comment
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With barely a day to go for the all important “all-party meet” on the Mhadei issue, parties in the state have remained unclear on what exactly the meet will achieve or change with regard to Goa’s stand on the issue.
Paying heed to the Mhadei Tribunal’s advice that both Goa and Karnataka should try to arrive at an amicable solution, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar had called for an all-party meeting which is scheduled for Monday. Political parties in the State stuck to the line that Goa cannot compromise on its stand with regard to the Mhadei issue.
While the ruling BJP has stuck to a safe line that the party will do what the government says, the Congress has said that it would put environment first. Several other parties like that of the Goa Forward, the Aam Aadmi Party have said that they haven’t been invited while the Goa Vikas Party supremo remained unavailable for comment even though government sources have confirmed that he has been invited.
“The stand is very clear that we are fighting with Karnataka. Already 80 per cent is in our favour. We have to see why he has called an all-party meeting,” Sudin Dhavalikar, who confirmed that he received the invitation on behalf of his party, said.
BJP president Vinay Tendulkar remained cagey over his party’s stand.
“Whatever the state government decides is our party’s stand. As the matter is sub-judice, I would not comment much on it,” Tendulkar said.
​Goa Pradesh Congress Committee confirmed the receipt of an invite from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). It was informed that GPCC president Luizinho Faleiro and Leader of the Opposition Pratapsing Rane will attend the meeting on behalf of the party.
Speaking to The Goan, Faleiro stated, "Ecology and protection of rivers needs to be prioritised. Congress has always protected Goa's river waters and we intend to stand by our legacy.'
Nationalist Congress Party president Jose Philip D'Souza also confirmed the receipt of the invitation and expressed his willingness to attend it even though he admitted that his party was yet to discuss the matter in-depth at an executive level.
The tribunal had suggested that the Chief Ministers of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra try and reach an amicable settlement to the water dispute ‘in the spirit of brotherhood in a federal system’. With Goa’s stand not reconcilable with that of Karnataka it is unclear what kind of amicable solution can be worked out.
