the goan I network
MARGAO
Terming the development as ‘political upheaval’, Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai on Thursday said the Manohar Parrikar style of politics is no longer visible in the BJP as he failed to understand why it had taken the 10 Congress MLAs when there was no threat to the stability of the government.
Sardesai said he would not like to say at this stage that BJP has back-stabbed him as he has not received any communication from BJP leadership.
“Parrikar’s style of politics is no longer present. This appears to be the age of new Goan politics,” he told the media on the sidelines of a program at the Margao Municipal Council.
Vijai also conceded that the numbers do not favour him, saying the party has no control over the political developments. “We are watching the situation. As of now, I continue to be a member of the NDA. It is for the senior partner to tell us what is the status of our position in the coalition,” he said.
Sardesai said the 10-member group led by Panaji MLA Babush Monserrate had proposed that either GFP withdraw support to coalition or they will merge into the BJP. “This proposal is not new. They had mooted it even when Parrikar was alive,” he said.
He wondered why the BJP had welcomed the 10 Congress MLAs when the government was stable and there was no threat to government. “The government was not supposed to fall. There was no move from our side to dislodge the government,” he added.
When asked whether he is afraid to face the emerging political developments, Vijai shot back “Politics keeps changing. There is no political tenanted property, where you are a deemed owner. Things keep changing. I am not afraid to face any situation, but the developments have certainly come as a surprise.”
Asserting that GFP had a strike rate of 75 per cent, Vijai said the party is not in the market for buying and selling.
“We have a certain agenda. We don’t move in the night. We have formed the coalition government with a Common Minimum Program. We did not stay in any hotel or someone’s house,” he said.
