MARGAO
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has condemned the summons issued by the Quepem deputy collector to the villagers and elected representatives of Naqueri Betul for peacefully protesting against the high handedness of the government in dealing with the DefExpo episode.
AAP convenor Rajeshree Nagarsekar said the government’s clumsy tactics to scuttle opposition and dissenting voices against the manner in which the DefExpo has been thrust upon people of Naqueri-Betul without taking them into consent as mandated by the 73rd & 74th Amendment exposes the arrogance of the BJP government and brings to the fore its intolerance to dissenting views. “To bury its own failures, the government is directly trying to censor, prosecute and oppress the peaceful agitators by issuing them notices under sec 111 of CrPC directing them to furnish bond of Rs 20,000 & surety in like amount to keep peace in the locality," she said, adding that the government’s move to threaten the peaceful demonstrators for exercising their democratic right to protest against the sudden unannounced take over of land marked for other purpose is highly deplorable.
Demanding to know whether the BJP is naive to the law of the land, to the ground realities or is supremely confident that even by doing so it will still enjoy mandate of the people, she said a mere visit to the village indicates that development has been criminally ignored for years despite the villagers demand for basic infrastructure like health care, education, jobs apart from most basic needs of water and electricity. “When a dedicated water supply line can be provided for a DefExpo, why has the villagers’ demand for augmenting water supply network in wake of water scarcity been ignored for years? The same is true of roads which points out that there is lack of political will to provide the aam aadmi even with basic infrastructure, leave alone the tall promises made by the BJP in its manifesto, which is disgustingly rendered a mere string of U turns," she said adding ever since the BJP has come to power, it has been with loggerheads with the same people which gave them the mandate.
