CANACONA
Drama prevailed at the first public meeting organised by the Canacona BJP at Chaudi late Saturday evening after a Flying Squad insisted that the meeting is halted as it had exceeded the 8 pm deadline, prompting Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani to cut short her speech.
The meeting, which was initially scheduled at 6 pm, got off to a delayed start as all speakers were on the stage except for BJP’s star campaigner and Union Minister Smriti Irani.
The other speakers began their speeches as the organisers awaited the arrival of Irani to launch the party’s Canacona-based manifesto.
With Irani delayed, Tawadkar decided to conclude his address and went on to release the manifesto at about 8 pm.
With the 8 pm deadline having lapsed, a Flying Squad and police team present at the site reportedly asked the organisers to stop the meeting.
BJP leader Satish Dhond, who was seated with the crowd, then went backstage and was engaged in a conversation with the Flying Squad in charge and police officer.
Around that time, the motorcade of Union Minister Smriti Irani arrived at the site. Irani went straight to the dais, where she was asked to immediately address the gathering.
While Irani was addressing the meeting, Dhond, Tawadkar and a few local BJP leaders continued to plead with the Flying Squad officers, who demanded that the organisers stop the meeting as it had gone past the 8 pm deadline.
Irani was barely three minutes into her address when she decided to cut short her speech. After a customary appeal to the audience in Canacona to vote for the BJP, Irani ended with ‘Dev Borem Korum’ in Konkani, and got down the dais. The meeting finally ended at about 8.08 pm.
Earlier, Irani hit out at the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for seeking an undertaking from his candidates that they would not defect to other parties.
“This only shows that Gandhi has no confidence in his own candidates,” said Irani.
Earlier, Tawadkar criticised former BJP MLA Isidore Fernandes for taking credit for the works that he (Tawadkar) had initiated during his tenure as minister.
