PANAJI
BJP leader Utpal Parrikar took a jibe at his party's senior leader and Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis questioning why the party was considering a man with "criminal antecedents" a day after the latter had questioned his claim for the Panaji ticket.
"The current politics is not acceptable to me. Winnability, integrity, character does not matter? Are we allowing a person with criminal antecedent to contest constituency represented by Manohar Parrikar?" Utpal asked in a cryptic comment he made to Prudent Media news channel.
Parrikar Jr has staked claim to the party nomination from Panaji which is currently represented by Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate, who is seemingly the front-runner.
On Wednesday, Fadnavis had questioned Utpal's claim to the ticket saying merely being the son of the late Manohar Parrikar does not make the cut in the BJP's style of allotting party tickets to contest elections.
Parrikar Jr also denied his claim to the ticket was not because he was Manohar Parrikar's son.
"If it was true, I would have insisted on it the last time (2019) when it was denied to me through the back door," he said, adding that a lot many workers who toiled with his father since 1994 are now working with him.
