MARGAO
Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai has said the party would rally behind the people opposing the government move to declare the villages as urban areas if the government tries to bulldoze its way with the proposal.
Sardesai accused the government of deliberately revisiting the 2020 notification in order to divert the attention of the people from pressing issues such as unemployment, coal transportation, failed education policy, price rise, etc.
“I fail to understand why the government is revisiting the 2020 notification after it was withdrawn due to backlash from the villagers. It is apparent that the government has a sinister plan to keep a vocal section of society busy with the issue and divert public attention from other issues,” he said.
That’s not all. Sardesai has demanded to know the rationale behind the proposal to declare certain villages as urban areas when the population census is presently underway. “I fail to understand the haste with which the government is trying to declare certain villages as urban areas when the census is underway,” he added.
Sardesai further demanded to know why the proposal was not discussed on the floor of the Goa Legislative Assembly when it involved a major policy decision. “If the government does not see reason and withdraw the process, the Goa Forward party will mobilise the people and bring them onto the streets to oppose the move,” he warned.
