MARGAO
South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha faced flak from the ruling BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party over his refusal to hand over a three-wheeler to a differently-abled person just because he turned up 10 minutes later for the distribution programme.
While the BJP top brass including party chief Sadanand Tanavade and ex-South Goa MP Narendra Savaikar and party ST leader, Anthony Barbosa slammed Sardinha for his decision, AAP Velim MLA Cruz Silva demanded unconditional apology from the MP over the issue.
BJP chief Tanavade took to the social media to send a message that disrespect, insults and emotional abuse to Divyangs are unacceptable.
While demanding an unconditional apology from Sardinha and the Congress party, Tanavade urged district Collector to immediately hand over the MPLAD vehicle financed out of the public exchequer to the beneficiary.
Ex-MP Narendra Sawaikar said that being a disciplinarian doesn’t empower to cause disrespect, that too to a Divyang. He said this callous attitude deserves condemnation and urged the MP not to make the beneficiary to suffer.
BJP ST leader Anthony Barbosa said the Human Rights Commission and the Commission for the Disabled should take cognisance of the episode and initiate action against the South Goa MP.
Meanwhile, AAP Velim MLA Cruz Silva said MP Sardinha and Congress party should apologise to differently-abled beneficiary and deliver bike at his home.
Rebuking Sardinha for publicly humiliating a differently-abled person by refusing to hand over a three-wheeler after the beneficiary arrived 10 minutes late, Cruz questioned whether the MP has no sensitivity to the struggles of differently-abled persons.
“This man had come all the way from Assolna to Margao, and to humiliate him and send him back empty-handed was an act of highest arrogance and malice. This function was to distribute benefits of a government scheme, and Sardinha had no right to act high-handedly as if he was giving some benefit out of his own pocket or from his party’s coffers,” stated Silva.
