MARGAO
Dongorim in Nuvem village resembled a political battleground on Sunday noon with supporters of Nuvem MLA Wilfred D’Sa and Aam Aadmi Party clashing again for the second time.
Tension rent the air for well over an hour on the road leading to the residence of the Nuvem MLA even as a strong police force erected barricades to prevent a clash and keep the two groups at bay.
The AAP supporters were targeted with tomatoes and eggs as they raised slogans against the MLA, accusing him and his supporters for indulging in "dadagiri" on Saturday when AAP vice-president Pratima Coutinho and his team had gone to his residence to hand him over the anniversary cake.
At one time, things threatened to go out of control and into a full-blown war after the Nuvem MLA set a 10-minute deadline to the police to clear the road of AAP supporters, even as they threatened to drive out the AAP workers right up to the Nuvem village boundary.
The MLA and his supporters were all holed up at his residence when AAP supporters initially made their presence felt on the road and were stopped from moving towards Wilfred’s residence.
The supporters later rushed to the spot where AAP’s supporters were kept at bay after they were told that the protestors have brought the MLA’s effigy to set it
afire.
Tension rent the air when the AAP supporters brought an effigy with the MLA’s photo on it. The police and the AAP protestors jostled as the men-in-uniform led by PI Kapil Nayak tried to seize the
effigy. Around this time round, Wilfred’s supporters hit the road, rushing to the spot where AAP supporters were holding the effigy, but were kept at bay.
The police erected barricades to ensure that the MLA’s supporters are separated from the rival group to prevent a free-for-all situation. A distance of just 5-6 meters separated the two groups as the police tried to pacify both sides to maintain order.
When Wilfred made his presence felt at the spot later in the afternoon, and with the AAP workers and supporters in no mood to withdraw, the MLA point-blank told the police to clear the road before his supporters clear the spot of AAP supporters.
With the situation threatening to go out of hand, Executive Magistrate Rosario Carvalho ordered the police to clear the road. A huge police force was on the job to push the AAP supporters behind, in order to open the road cleared, making them understand to withdraw from the spot.
The AAP workers insisted on marching towards the MLA’s residence to seek an apology for Saturday’s episode, claiming that not only the workers were greeted with tomatoes and eggs, but one of the women workers was allegedly manhandled.
