MARGAO
Congress South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha on Thursday reminded Union Home Minister Amit Shah that Goan culture is different from that of Gujarat, saying it would be foolish to presume that the BJP would win the South Goa seat in 2024 just because Congress MLAs and leaders have defected to the ruling BJP.
He said if the Union Minister Amit Shah feels that the people did a mistake by electing the Congress MP from South Goa in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the people of Goa will commit a double mistake by ensuring the victory for the Congress in both the Lok Sabha seats.
Addressing the media, Sardinha said the people of Goa are solidly behind the Congress, notwithstanding that some of the party MLAs and leaders have embraced the BJP for money and fear of facing cases.
“The Union Minister recently asked the people of Goa to give both seats to the BJP in 2024 polls. He thinks that it is now easy for the BJP to win the seat on the assumption the Congress has lost its base in South Goa just because the MLAs and leaders have defected. Amit Shah should understand that the culture of Goa is different from Gujarat. People of Goa will never reward the defectors. In fact, the coming Lok Sabha election will give them an opportunity to teach them a lesson,” he said, adding that the people of Goa are solidly behind the Congress.
The South Goa MP has called upon the BJP to protect the interest of Goa on Mhadei. “The BJP is ruling in Karnataka, Goa and at the Centre. The BJP cannot allow the people of Goa to starve of water by diverting the water to Karnataka for irrigation and for the steel industry,” he said.
Saying the people of Goa are reeling under water scarcity, the MP demanded that the BJP at the Centre and in Goa and Karnataka mete out justice for Goa on Mhadei and save the people of Goa from water starvation.
