MARGAO
Days after he quit the Congress to embrace the saffron party, leaving the constituents shocked and angry, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday descended at Majorda to reassure Nuvemkars that neither MLA Aleixo Sequeira nor the people will regret the decision of the political heavyweight to join the BJP.
The Chief Minister did not shed light on the oft-repeated question of whether Aleixo will be inducted into his Cabinet and the nature of infrastructure and human development that will be ushered in Nuvem. The Chief Minister, however, went on to announce that Nuvemkars will take pride in the fact that their MLA has joined the BJP.
Taking the platform of the inauguration of the Half Way Home of the Public Assistance (Provedoria) at Majorda on Sunday to hand out an assurance to the constituents of Nuvem in the presence of Provedoria Minister Subhash Shirodkar and Sequeira, the Chief Minister promised to fulfil all the election promises of the Nuvem MLA in the next four years and half.
“Many may have levelled allegations after Aleixo left the Congress to join the BJP. He has been a guiding force for me. He has a vision for his constituency as well as for Goa. He wants only two things, infrastructure and human development of his constituency and his constituents and nothing more,” Sawant said.
He added: “Aleixo’s intention in joining the BJP is clear that he is interested only in the infrastructure and human development. Many allegations might have been levelled against him for joining the BJP. I want to assure the Nuvem constituency will witness both infrastructure and human development in the remaining four and half years.”
Saying that the country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has seen tremendous progress over the last eight years, the Chief Minister said that the Nuvem MLA is also of the firm view that Goa too should develop and hence has given the ruling party his support.
“Aleixo is a senior politician with vast experience of many years. His experience will help the government to usher in and bring about the development of the State. I assure you that the constituency will see overall development. Aleixo will never regret his decision to join the BJP. The people of Nuvem constituency will also never regret the MLA’s decision. He has taken the step to join the BJP for the people and the community. This is my promise for the people of Nuvem constituency that they will feel proud that their MLA had decided to join the BJP.”
The Chief Minister made the remarks after the MLA requested Sawant and Minister for Provedoria Subhash Shirodkar to house an old age home at the Majorda centre donated by the Godinho family around 150 years ago since he had handed out the assurance to the people in the 2022 election.
The Chief Minister not only promised to house an old age home at the Majorda centre but later issued instructions to the Provedoria staff to find out within 15 days whether any premises are presently vacant to house the Half Way Home.
Incidentally, the Chief Minister is not new to Nuvem constituency. He was a regular visitor to the constituency after then Congress MLA Wilfred D’Sa had embraced the BJP along with nine other Congress MLAs in 2019, giving his government a clear majority in the 40-member Legislative Assembly.
