the goan I network
MARGAO
Ahead of the April 23 election, the Congress campaign got a shot in the arm on Sunday when Netravali Deputy Sarpanch Abhijit Desai along with three panch members and 105 supporters joined the party on Sunday.
Abhijit had hit the headlines a month ago when he along with the Sarpanch was disqualified by the Director of Panchayat and the deputy sarpanch attributing the Panchayat Director’s action to his decision to raise question against former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s son’s eco-tourism project in the village.
The Netravali deputy sarpanch and his supporters were welcomed by Leader of the Opposition Babu Kavlekar, former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, district president Joe Dias and others at the District Congress office here on Sunday.
Both Babu and Digambar said that the decision by Abhijit and his supporters to join the Congress will give a big boost to Francisco Sardinha’s candidature in Sanguem
areas.
“The Congress is well positioned this time round to win the South Goa seat as well as the North Goa seat. People of Goa have realized that the BJP government at the centre and in Goa have only fooled them with empty promises,” Kavlekar said.
Babu demanded to know why the BJP and the sitting MP Narendra Sawaikar had failed to resolve the mining imbroglio till date.
“The BJP has failed to address the mining issues. The ruling has failed to grant ST status to the Dhangar community,” he said, while demanding to know whether the BJP sitting MP has made any efforts to deposit the promised Rs 15 lakh in the account of each
and every citizen of the constituency.
In his brief address, Margao MLA and Congress chief campaign manager, Digambar Kamat, said the decision by Abhijit and his group is significant and will definitely benefit the Congress in the election.
Abhijit said though he was a member of the Congress party in the past, he and his workers had worked for the success of the BJP in the last two elections.
“The BJP only gave empty promises. They have failed to resolve the mining issue as well as issues concerning forest rights of the villagers of Netravali,” he said.
