MARGAO: Apparently worried over the fallout of the High Court judgement on the NGT Pune bench going in favour of the Greens, coalition partners are seeing red over Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's reported plans to challenge the judgement in the Supreme Court, with TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai virtually coming clear, saying the government cannot ignore the spirit of the High Court judgement.
Sources in the know said members of the coalition government and ministers, TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai and Revenue Minister Rohan Khaunte are believed to have touched on the emerging issue when the Revenue Minister paid a visit to Sardesai's residence to inquire about his health on Thursday.
When The Goan sought to know from the Revenue Minister, during his visit to Nuvem, whether he
agrees with the Chief Minister's stand on challenging the High Court order in the Supreme Court, he
parried the question by saying no comments.
The TCP Minister and the Revenue Minister are believed to have later discussed the High Court
judgement and the likely fallout it will have in the event the government decides to challenge the order in the Supreme Court.
When The Goan called up the TCP Minister to find out whether he supports the Chief Minister's decision to challenge the high Court judgement in the Apex Court, the TCP Minister shot back saying the government cannot ignore the spirit of the High Court Judgement. "I spoke to the Chief Minister on the issue and he only said the government is examining the Judgement. I have been told by the Chief Minister that the government has not yet come to the conclusion that the High court judgement will be challenged in the Supreme Court", Sardesai said.
Reminding that the Goa Forward's avowed agenda has been to protect Goem, Goemkar, Goemkarponn, Sardesai added "when we say Goem, Goemkar and Goemkarponn, we mean not only the people of Goa, but also Goa's nature and environment which ought to be protected. I have gone through the High Court order and I feel that the spirit of the Court judgement cannot be ignored by the government".
Reliable sources informed that the some members of the coalition partners have reportedly veered
round the view that the government should not pursue the matter further, fearing that it would only
further antagonize the people.
Sources said some of them are believed to have requested the TCP Minister to speak to the Chief
Minister and convey their sentiments on the contentious issue. "The Chief Minister says he is presently examining the high court order. We will comment only after the CM speaks his mind out on the question of challenging the High Court order in the Supreme Court", Sardesai said, adding "all I want to say for the moment is that the government cannot ignore the spirit of the High Court Judgement".
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The Chief Minister says he is presently examining the high court order. We will comment only after the CM speaks his mind out on the question of challenging the High Court order in the Supreme Court
- Vijai Sardesai, TCP Minister
