MARGAO
Margao Municipal Council Chief Officer Ajit Panchwadkar was in the centre of a controversy after his birthday celebration went rival, with his known opponents calling for action against him for having the birthday party allegedly in violation of Covid guidelines.
Till recently, Panchwadkar was Covid Incident Commandant for South Goa. While the Goa Municipal Employees Association, which had served a strike notice on Tuesday demanding Panchwadkar’s transfer, was quick to demand action against the CO, Goa Forward Chief and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai said the government will have no moral right to punish citizens for not wearing masks if no action is initiated against the officer.
Quoting Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s statement speaking of government as Karma Yogi, Sardesai said he will have to go to the dictionary to see whether the MMC Chief Officer fits in the CM’s definition.
He warned that people will lose confidence in the government if no action is initiated against the Chief Officer. “How can a government-appointed Incident Commandant feed his birthday cake to the guests who were neither wearing masks nor observing social distancing,” he said.
“The Margao Chief Officer has today become the boss of Margao. Neither the Chief Minister nor the Leader of the Opposition or Vijai Sardesai can speak against the Chief Officer,” he said.
General secretary of Goa Municipal Employees Association, Anil Shirodkar, said, “The CO was an Incident Commandant during the pandemic lockdown. He has sent a wrong message to the citizens by hosting a birthday party by throwing the Covid guidelines to the winds,” Anil added.
The video that went viral since late Tuesday evening shows the Chief Officer cutting his birthday cake and feeding it to the guests, including MMC councillors.
