the goan I network
PANAJI
Nationalist Congress Party’s lone legislator in the Goa Assembly Churchill Alemao, who hitherto has stayed aloof from the current political quick-sand, on Saturday said the Congress is the only secular party and would support if the Opposition party attempts to form the government.
Alemao also said that he had offers from the BJP-led ruling coalition but will give the government only issue-based support.
The Benaulim legislator, who has in the 18-months of his current tenure thus far vacillated between the BJP-led coalition government and the Opposition Congress party both inside and outside the Goa legislature, had stayed aloof from the ongoing power battles between the
two sides.
On Saturday, however, Alemao for the first time dabbled in the high decibel political slugfest at a press conference he addressed at a Panaji hotel to talk of his campaign in the Goa Football Association elections. He is running for the football body’s president’s post where he is challenged by former minister Avertano Furtado.
Alemao said, he will support the Congress, which is a “secular” party, if it makes a bid to form the government in Goa.
Once a political heavyweight, Alemao finds himself virtually in no-man’s land, caught between the BJP-led Treasury benches and the Congress-led Opposition. In the current tenure, including the last monsoon session which concluded on August 3, he has voted with the government and the Opposition as well.
Although currently isolated, the wisecracker politician could gain political currency in a House whose strength has dropped to 38 with two MLAs quitting their membership and the main contenders -- BJP and Congress -- tied at strength of 14 apiece.
CM’s participation in meeting via
video-conference a lie: Cong
PANJIM: The Congress on Saturday raised strong concerns that those involved in the Investment Promotion Board (IPB) meeting on Wednesday were lying over Parrikar’s participation in the meeting via video-conference. Addressing media persons at the Congress headquarters, spokesperson Amarnath Panjikar pointed out that even though it had been reported that Parrikar had been a part of the meeting via video-conference, none of the press had actually seen this, and that in all likelihood, this was a lie that was being passed around to fool everyone.
SOPTE CHALLENGED: The Congress which on Saturday embarked on the task of rebuilding its organizational setup in Mandrem took on its renegade leader Dayanand Sopte and challenged him to reveal names of the 100-odd people he claims were given jobs by the BJP-led government and also identify the development works sanctioned. >> See pg 3
