PANAJI
With its man back in the cabinet, the MGP which had attacked the BJP left, right and centre ahead of the assembly polls, said that both parties were like-minded and held the key to Goa’s future in the years to come.
Former deputy chief minister Sudin Dhavalikar, who was sworn-in as a minister in the Pramod Sawant-led cabinet also toed the BJP’s line on rebuilding of temples destroyed by the Portuguese during the colonial era, calling it a duty of “our ancestors”.
“Both these parties are like-minded and Goa needs both. The future of Goa lies with the BJP and MGP. We will take Goa to the future. BJP-MGP alliance will continue for 10 years,” MGP president Deepak Dhavalikar said on Saturday.
“It is a strategy one plays in war and politics. We have to assess our chances after a popular vote. We cannot say we were wrong, but we fell short. The people ensured we did not do well enough. People still think that the BJP and MGP should come together. So we accepted and went ahead,” Deepak
also said, when asked about the party’s anti-BJP rhetoric in the run-up to the assembly polls.
Sudin Dhavalikar, who had attacked Sawant’s leadership after being dropped from the cabinet in 2019, said that it was up to the Chief Minister to decide on the portfolio. Dhavalikar, however, dropped hints of his favour for the Archives and Archaeology portfolio, by virtually singing paeans about Sawant’s stated efforts to rebuild temples destroyed by the Portuguese.
“I had made a statement that three temples broken by the Portuguese have been rebuilt by the devotees and trustees. Wherever there is an empty place where these temples once were, that process should begin,” he said, naming the Mahalaxmi temple which he said was relocated to Corlim.
“Some temples have been relocated. But the places in which the temples have been broken, if there are efforts to rebuild them then it is our duty to help such efforts.
This is where there are no other structures at the site. It is our duty to upkeep what has been left by our ancestors,” he said.
Dhavalikar had held the Archives and Archaeology portfolio in 2003.
His brother Deepak, also echoed similar sentiments, while referring to the Rs 20 crore allocation made by the Chief Minister in his budget speech for rebuilding temples destroyed during the colonial era.
“The CM has made a provision of Rs 20 crore in his budget speech. As a Minister I would like to work on this,” Sudin said.
‘TMC-MGP alliance was not a mistake, it was a strategy’
PANAJI: MGP President Deepak Dhavalikar on Saturday said The TMC-MGP alliance is a thing of the past, even as he went on to assert that the people had accepted the BJP.
When asked if the alliance with TMC had been a mistake, Dhavalikar replied in negative. “The alliance with TMC was not a mistake. It was a strategy. People want that the BJP-MGP should go ahead and that is the reason, we went with the BJP,” he reasoned.
Dhavalikar said the MGP would work with BJP at the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the modalities would be worked out.
“MGP will work all over Goa, including Priol,” said Dhavalikar.
Stating that differences between the BJP and MGP had been resolved, Dhavalikar said both parties have a similar ideology and Goa’s future will depend on the two parties.
Dhavalikar sought to evade media queries on what were those differences between the BJP and MGP and how they had been resolved.
“Why do you (journalists) want to know the differences? I can only say differences which were there have been sorted out,” he said.
