PANAJI/MARGAO
Despite being disarmed by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s return on Thursday, two days ahead of schedule, the Congress kept its date with Governor Mridula Sinha on Friday and urged her to step in and halt what it called “frequent collapse” of governance due to his absence.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President, Girish Chodankar, who led a delegation to Sinha, also raised questions about Parrikar seeking treatment abroad for mere ‘indigestion’.
With an ailing chief minister and two of his cabinet colleagues, who are often absent from the State, Chodankar termed the present situation as a “constitutional crisis” Chodankar and demanded to know the exact nature of their ailments since the State was paying the medical bills of the trio. Chodankar, in his written memorandum to the Governor, said it is not believable that merely ‘indigestion’ required to be treated in the US. He also asked in his memorandum to Sinha whether the government does not consider Goa Medical College fit enough to treat a case of ‘indigestion’.
Parrikar on Thursday returned to Goa from the US following his third visit. He is being treated there at the globally acclaimed Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York. Among other objections listed out to the governor, Chodankar cited the Chief Minister’s decision not to delegate powers or charge to any of his cabinet colleagues. He termed it unprecedented and autocratic which is the root cause of the collapse of the administration when the CM is away.
Chodankar also drew the Governor’s attention to the fact that two other ministers -- Power Minister Pandurang Madkaikar and Urban Development Minister Francis D’Souza -- are also
seriously sick.
The GPCC chief also prodded the governor to take “affirmative action” since her gubernatorial office was the real repository of power in the State.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party said the Congress was paying mere lip-service to the role of the Opposition.
AAP General Secretary Pradeep Padgaonkar said the Congress should deamnd an Assembly session and move a no-confidence motion against the State government. It said the absence of many MLAs from the delegation that met the Governor showed that the Congress lacks seriousness and is only enacting a drama, Padgaonkar said.
Meanwhile, in South Goa, Congress upped the ante against the NDA government headed by Narendra Modi on the controversial Rafale deal, demanding the dismissal of the Prime Minister and appointment of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the deal.
The Congress further said it was a shame for the people of Goa because the then Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar was kept in the dark when the Prime Minister inked the deal for the purchase of Rafales, with AICC General secretary Dr Chella Kumar saying either Modi had no trust in his own Defense Minister or Parrikar had no say in the deal.
The District Congress Committee took out a rally to the South District Collectorate on Friday before handing over a memorandum addressed to the President of India to the District Collector Dr Tariq Thomas. Congress District President Joe Dias handed over the memorandum to the Collector in the presence of AICC General Secretary Dr Chella Kumar, GPCC Chief Girish Chodankar, Leader of the Opposition Babu Kavlekar, Party MLAs Digambar Kamat, Ravi Naik, Filipe Neri Rodrigues, Wilfred D’Sa and Clafacio Dias.
Addressing the media, Dr Chella Kumar said the Rafale scam needs to be referred to the JPC for investigation for causing a loss of Rs 41,000 crore to the public exchequer. The deal, he said, had also compromised national security and national interests, squandered the interests of the government company, HAL and deliberately violated the mandatory defense procurement procedure.
Dr Kumar said the Congress will continue the battle for the JPC probe in the Rafale deal, saying the fight will continue till the Prime Minister is removed in the 2019 Lok sabha election.
In his address, GPCC Chief Girish Chodankar said the BJP used Hindutva for electoral gains and asserted the people of the country will not forgive the BJP for using Bharat Mata and Hindus for their selfish politics. “Neither God nor the Hindus of this country will forgive the BJP in the coming election,” Girish said.
Leader of the Opposition Babu Kavlekar said the PM should accept the challenge of the Congress by appointing the JPC.
Margao MLA Digambar Kamat said that apart from the discrepancy in the amount of the deal, the NDA government had given a go ahead to HAL which was supposed to manufacture the remaining 108 Rafale jets under the transfer of technology.
He demanded to know why a private player, which had no experience in manufacturing fighter jets, bagged the contract. He exuded confidence that something positive will come out from the SC which is hearing the matter next week.
