the goan I network
PANAJI
Speaking at a press conference, Chodanker said it was understandable for BJP to name Congress but getting media to be party in the case was a step to silence them.
“This new government has shown that their first step is to curb the freedom of press. This is a warning to the Goans, media, citizens and NGOs not to raise their voice against the government. But they cannot silence the media,” he warned.
The defamation case was filed by BJP president Vinay Tendulkar after the Chondanker alleged the party had spent as much as Rs 1,000 crore to form the government. In a sarcastic tone, Chodankar said he was ready to apologise for his comments if the BJP were to declare the actual amount they spent in winning over MLAs to their side.
“If amount of Rs 1,000 crore is wrong then tell us how much was actually given to those MLAs. BJP’s own karyakartas have told me that they are disappointed with the way party leaders have been behaving. I will apologise to BJP if they tell us how much they really gave to the MLAs,” he said.
‘Governor acted under pressure’
PANAJI: Sympathizing with Goa Governor Mridula Sinha, Congress secretary Girish Chondanker said he had got the impression that she was under a lot of pressure in the last couple of days.
Speaking to media, Chodanker said that he had great respect for the Governor but during his last interaction, he found that she was pressurized into making decisions.
“We had met the Governor when our delegation visited Raj Bhavan last week and I found that she is an innocent with an idealistic character. But from her body language and the fact that she made no eye contact with any of us, I got the impression that she was under pressure,” he said.
He further said, it seemed like she didn’t want to behave in the way that she did but was forced to go against her own wish.
