PANAJI
Trust the Congress party for even turning meetings with election strategists into political fiascos.
Caught like a startled deer in the headlights after a controversial meeting with BJP's election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis at a starred resort in Panaji around midnight on Monday, Congress working president Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco on Tuesday, gave a long-winded explanation, suggesting that he was at the wrong place, at the wrong time and perhaps ended up meeting the wrong people too.
Lourenco, in the presence of state Congress president and All India Congress Committee secretary in-charge of Goa Dinesh Gundu Rao, claimed that he had arrived at the starred resort to meet a political strategist.
"I was told that there is a strategist, who was supposed to meet me there. It was fixed at 10 pm, but I got delayed because on the way we had food after campaigning," Lourenco said.
Lourenco also said that when he arrived at the resort, he ended up accidentally meeting Fadnavis, a chance encounter that was not on his schedule.
"I did not know so many people were there, the BJP election in-charge was there. Somebody said a strategist is there, let us meet. My meeting was for the strategy. Then, go to see, CM is there (too)," he said.
"There is no other politics to it. There is no question of me joining any political party and we will put it at rest," the Congress MLA further said.
Interestingly, the state Congress president also came to Lourenco's rescue, saying bumping into leaders of other political parties accidentally, cannot be considered odd every time, while sticking to Lourenco's premise.
Chodankar said that the election strategist (whom neither leader named) was in town and he suggested that the strategist and Lourenco catch up, because the latter is the head of the Congress election campaign committee.
"I had travelled from Siolim to Vasco and was tired so I said I cannot come now, you meet him (Lourenco)... We are meeting a lot of campaign strategists (these days)," Chodankar said.
When asked if it was proper for a high ranking Congress official and an MLA to meet election in-charges of rival political parties ahead of polls, Chodankar said: "If that is the case we will have to ask hotel people and give us the guest list who are staying. If there is a BJP leader in any hotel, that means we cannot enter that hotel. So that is the way out? How are we supposed to know who is there in the hotel?
Lourenco also defended his occasional meetings with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant saying opposition MLAs had to beg with BJP leaders to get some of the constituency works completed.
"We go to meet him to clear jobs and get some work done. People come to us with expectations. Only those who are MLAs understand this. Not a single job has been given to us (oppn MLAs). Not a single work has been done," Lourenco said.
"Our files hardly move and their files move faster because they are from ruling dispensation and we have to go like beggars. This is the situation. Whatever we do is in the interest of the public," Lourenco also said.
