MARGAO
The Trinamool Congress made its presence felt in Cuncolim with the party roping into its fold, ex-UGDP president Dr Jorson Fernandes, even as TMC leader Derek O’Brien asserted on Tuesday that the party is in Goa for a long run, not to win a seat or two but to form the next government.
He further ruled out the possibility of aligning with smaller parties in Goa, saying the problem with smaller parties is that you don’t know what will happen after the election.
Welcoming Jorson in the party fold, Derek said the ENT specialist is the kind of people who fits in the TMC, saying Jorson is a successful doctor, has a clean image and is not a goon, a thug or a cheat and does not come from one family.
“In Goa, we have heard husbands, daughters, nephews, sons, sister in-laws, almost everybody in political parties. In the pre-requisites of being a member of the TMC to build a new Goa, Jorson is the person who has a clean and corruption free image,” he said.
He evaded an answer to a query whether talks with the Goa Forward party is still on, saying the TMC is a straight forward party, which does not believe in hide and seek.
“The problem to ally with the smaller parties is that you don’t know what will happen after the elections. We do not know who goes where after the election. The TMC believes in a simple ideology. Our ideology is not like a T-shirt, one day you wear the yellow T-shirt, the next day a blue one. TMC is an ideology, believe in it, stay with it. We have fought the communists, what is the BJP and Amit Shah,” he asserted.
Referring to the corruption charges levelled against Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Derek said the TMC is not making the allegations, but the allegations are being levelled by a Constitutional head.
Dr Jorson said the people of Goa have no faith in the ruling dispensation. “There is institutionalised corruption. The Congress too had committed many a sin. The Congress was given a mandate, but 10 of their MLAs went to the BJP,” he said.
He said the single motivation for him to join the TMC is Mamata Didi’s leadership, saying she is fighting with all her might. “We have to fight divisive forces. All likeminded parties should come together to rule the way Goans want and keep their aspirations,” he added.
