Margao shigmo hijacked by govt: Girish
Refuses to be feted by the Damu-led panel
THE GOAN NETWORK
MARGAO
A member of the Madgao Shigmotsav Samiti and Congress leader Girish Chodankar has said the Margao Shigmo celebrations which was in the hands of citizens has been hijacked by the BJP office bearers since the BJP government came to power and converted it into a BJP shigmo committee.
Reacting to the statement of government-appointed Margao shigmo committee headed by Damu Naik about his felicitation at a media briefing, Girish said it is the 'political mischief' to divide the original samiti by the government appointed president Damu Naik since he sees politics in everything. "If you want to seriously felicitate me, please handover the shigmo celebrations to the founders samiti headed by Vasant Shirodkar, I will happily accept this as my felicitation,” he dared the Damu-led samiti.
Girish wondered how the government appointed shigmo committee can felicitate him when he is fighting from the front against them since 2006, to get back the shigmo celebrations to the founders of Madgao Shigmotsav Samiti which was formed in 1988 and duly registered with the Registrar of Societies.
Saying that it is his principled stand not to get himself felicitated, Girish said he has kept himself away from the affairs of the shigmo samiti this year for political reasons but hastened to add, “I am totally committed to the cause of the samiti and am very much with them. My fight will continue till powers are restored to the original samiti.”
Attacking Parsekar government for denying Shigmotsav to the founders despite the registered samiti giving letters to the government expressing its readiness to organise Shigmotsav without government grants, Girish said he fails to understand why the government which is functioning on borrowings due to financial crises needs to spend lakh of rupees just to please it's office bearers.
