Likening the proposed regional party in Goa to a 'divorce before marriage', Panaji MLA Siddharth Kunkolienkar said it is for the people to decide on such a set up.
Speaking to media on the sidelines of a function at Zoriwado-Davorlim on Sunday, the Panaji legislator said there were inherent differences among the proponent MLAs of the planned regional party on the language issue.
It may be recalled that the efforts of Bicholim MLA Naresh Sawal to table a Private Members Bill in the recently concluded Assembly Session for proposing equal status to Marathi on par with Konkani had met with a cold response among two of his other compatriot MLAs in the evolving regional set up, who are also the proponents of the aforementioned evolving regional party.
Asked whether he perceives the evolving regional party as a threat to the BJP, the Panaji MLA, who is also the GSIDC vice-chairman, said, “It is like a divorce before marriage. There are differences among them on the language issue… North, South. It is for the people to decide. The people know what is good and bad. It is for the people to see our work,” Kunkolienkar remarked.
Reacting to the controversy on the amendment to the Tree Act for removing coconut tree from its ambit, the Panaji legislator termed the whole issue as being exploited by “vested interests” for polarisation, who are indulging in “false propaganda”.
Endorsing the stand of the Coconut Growers Association about replacing an old coconut tree with new variety of coconut tree, the Panaji MLA said the growers faced problems in this process. “Even in case of cutting a degenerated tree, it was a cumbersome process,” he stated.
The Panaji MLA also mentioned that permission will still have to be obtained to cut the coconut tree under the new amendment. He classified cashew, coconut trees as horticultural crops. “They are all having vested interests and are being used for polarisation,” he stated. “The builders will still need permission to cut a coconut tree,” he said, while stating, “We are here for good governance and lesser hassles.”
Responding to a question on forthcoming CCP elections and whether its results would be considered as a referendum on the performance of the State government, the Panaji MLA replied in the negative. “It cannot be a referendum. The State government should not be equated with the CCP. CCP is a local body election.” He claimed that the BJP supported panel will field candidates in all the CCP Wards in the election.
Asked to react to reports about alleged disgruntlement in the party pertaining to ticket distribution for the CCP polls, Kunkolienkar termed the BJP as a big family where there could be some differences. “We will talk and sort them (differences) out. In a big party, this is bound to happen. It (BJP) is a big family,” he added.
