MARGAO
Anti-coal protesters and supporters of Congress-turned-BJP Nuvem MLA Wilfred D’Sa came face to face on Monday over latter’s decision to abstain from voting on the linear projects in the just-concluded Assembly session, even as D’Sa posed a counter query to the protesters whether he should have got disqualified just because of 20-50 people when he has been elected by 10,500 voters.
Even as the MLA took the stand that he had abstained from voting on the resolutions on the linear projects because of the whip issued by his party, the anti-coal protesters and supporters of the MLA were involved in heated exchanges.
At one point, the MLA was seeking to know from Ramiro Mascarenhas whether he wanted him to get disqualified and stand by him as the latter reminded D’Sa of his promise to stand by the people.
When Goencho Ekvott Convenor Creson Antao, who is a voter of Nuvem constituency, said the people would have got him re-elected if he had to get disqualified, D’Sa shot back saying “It is easy to talk like that.”
The MLA’s close supporter Remy Fernandes then questioned the group whether 10-20 protesters can get the MLA elected back to the Assembly. The two sides again came face to face when a woman protester pointed out that the MLA is in the Assembly just because people voted for him, prompting a supporter of the Nuvem MLA to point out that the woman is not a voter of the constituency.
When the delegation maintained that the woman is a daughter of Loutolim, another D’Sa supporter was quick to demand that the protesters should only get the voters to the MLA and not people from outside the constituency. That the delegation pointed out that they are all working for Goa and the woman in question is a daughter of Loutolim had no takers with the MLA’s supporters as they insisted that only voters and not outsiders should come to the MLA for discussion.
Tampers ran high again when a woman protester demanded to know whether the MLA and his supporters want them to get all the 10,500 voters to his residence. The MLA’s supporters pointed out that credit goes to the MLA for raising the coal issue in the House when the resolutions did not speak anything about it.
Later briefing the media, D’Sa wanted to know whether the 10-20 protesters wanted him to get disqualified when the 10,500 voters had elected him to work for them. “Today, the panchayat members from Nuvem constituency had a meeting with me, wherein they have listed out various development works. Should I get disqualified just because of the 20 people?” he questioned.
That’s not all. D’sa sought to know whether there coal transportation will be stopped if he gets disqualified, adding, “I am even ready to resign from the Assembly if these people give an assurance that my resignation will stop coal-related issues in the state.”
