MARGAO
MGP leader and PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar on Saturday said the Margao Municipal Council garden should be named after Jack Sequeira since Salcete had given the highest votes against the merger of Goa into
Maharashtra.
Sudin’s statement comes against the backdrop of the recent statement by TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai that the Opinion Poll holds greater significance than Liberation.
That’s not all. Without elaborating, he further reminded all and sundry there would have been no Opinion Poll if Goa was not liberated from the Portuguese yoke, as he saluted the freedom fighters for ending Salazar’s dictatorship.
“We have been facing criticism over the statue of Jack Sequeira. But these people should know that there would have been no Opinion Poll if Goa was not liberated from the Portuguese. During the Opinion Poll, maximum votes in favour of Goa retaining its independent identity came from Salcete. Though we belonged to the MGP, my father and mother worked against Goa’s merger. That is the reason why the MGP had ruled Goa for 17 years,” he said, while reiterating that there would have been no Opinion Poll if Goa was not liberated.
He said the Margao Municipal Council should consider naming its garden after Jack Sequeira since Salcete had given the highest votes against the merger.
“Then we have Babu Naik and other stalwarts from Margao, who had worked during the Opinion Poll and they should be honoured,” he said, while saying the MMC can name its garden after Jack Sequeira by taking the local MLAs into confidence. Sudin further said the people of Goa were only against the Salazar dictator and not against the Portugal or its people. “What Goa did in 1961, the Portuguese people got in 1984 when Salazar ruled ended in Portugal,” he said.
Saying that he had faced flak for visiting Portugal, the PWD Minister said he had gone there to study the water management system since the country has something to offer on the subject.
“The Opa water treatment plant was set up by the Portuguese and is still in a running condition because of the technology,” he said.
