PANAJI
Questioning his father's former aide and now arch-rival Sudhir Kandolkar's political ability, Mapusa BJP MLA Joshua D'Souza on Friday also slammed BJP Ports Minister Michael Lobo for casting designs on his constituency, claiming 'Mhapshekars' would never tolerate an 'outsider' dictating terms to them.
At his birthday celebrations on Saturday, Joshua also fended off questions from the media over accusations made by his critics about lack of development in his constituency, he is working on his performance report card, which would do the talking for him as elections near.
Responding to accusations made by Kandolkar, who has repeatedly said that Joshua has been a failure as an MLA, the Mapusa MLA said: "He perhaps wants to be MLA. Last time he was also keen. He feels that he has a chance. My only question is, the man has been in politics for the last 20-25 years. He should show what he has done over the last 25 years. He is only speaking about development today".
Joshua also slammed Kandolkar, who was once one of his father's closest political aides, saying the Congress party leader who is seeking to replace him as the Mapusa MLA, always needs a political crutch to help his politics hobble along. Once that crutch was his father, late Francis D'Souza, Joshua said, adding that Kandolkar's latest crutch is Michael Lobo, who is a political expansion spree.
"The person (Kandolkar) who is making allegations, he was already in the system. He has shown what he can do and what he is capable of doing. He has worked very closely with my father. He was completely (working) with the support of my father," Joshua said.
"Now my father is not there. Now he is with Michael. He is only reliant on others' support. A candidate should have his own strength. I am working on my own. I take my own decisions," he added.
Asked about moves being made by Michael Lobo, who has been publicly eyeing the Mapusa constituency as part of his plans to spread his sphere of influence throughout Bardez, Joshua said that people should ask themselves why the Ports Minister was keen on influencing candidate selection across a clutch of constituencies.
"He may have other interests. Why is he showing interest in other constituencies? People should think about it, why two constituencies, three constituencies, four constituencies, five constituencies," Joshua said, adding that Kandolkar in a recent interview had acknowledged receiving help from Lobo in the 2019 bypolls.
Joshua also threw the 'outsider' card at Michael Lobo, saying Mapusa would not tolerate an outsider interfering in the affairs of their town.
"A lot will happen in the coming days. Some politicians may field two more candidates to get a hold in Mapusa. Mapusa people will decide what needs to be done. An outsider cannot tell people from Mapusa what is to be done. People from Mapusa are smart enough to know," Joshua said.
