the goan I network
MARGAO
Saying that the just concluded Maharashtra Assembly polls saw the people of that state rejecting defectors, Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai has said he has no doubt that the people of Goa will teach the defectors as well as the political party that accepted the turncoats a bitter lesson in the 2022 election.
Praising NCP strongman Sharad Pawar for galvanising the voters to defeat the defectors in Maharashtra, Sardesai, however, said he cannot see any Sharad Pawar in the Goa Congress party, again raising the oft repeated question, whether the 10 Congress MLAs had defected to the BJP or were send to the ruling party. “To defeat the defectors, you need the right type of leader, who can awaken the sentiments of the people. In Goa’s case, when 10 MLAs have defected wholesale into the BJP, I do not see any Sharad Pawar in the Goa Congress. The question whether the Congress MLAs had defected to the BJP or whether they were sent to the ruling party still remains unanswered,” he told the media.
Justifying the statement, Sardesai said that MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar has raised a relevant question why none of the five Congress MLAs had filed the disqualification petition against the 10 MLAs. “This question is important. The Congress has to answer this question to come clear how serious is the opposition party. Nothing will move forward if the party is not firm in its resolve that they will teach the defectors a lesson,” he added.
He, however, exuded confidence that the people of Goa will teach the defectors a lesson in the next election. “The socio-politically conscious people of Goa are quite for the moment, but they are not sleeping. The people will teach them a lesson when the time comes,” he said.
Referring to Haryana where people opposed the BJP when it came to taking the support of one individual, Sardesai demanded to know why such a situation did not come in Goa when the 10 Congress MLAs had defected into the BJP.
Saying that the Goa Forward will study the three challenges facing Goa, including Mhadei, mining and money (State’s financial position), he said the regional party will show the way forward by taking the Mhadei issue before the NGT and honour the word given to the people of Goa.
10 Congress rebels, Vijai will not escape wrath of people: Girish
MARGAO: Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) chief Girish Chodankar on Monday said that the people of Goa will teach a lesson to the 10 party defectors as well as MLAs including Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai, who had betrayed trust reposed in them in the 2017 Assembly election.
Apparently saying that Goa Forward chief cannot escape the wrath of the people of Goa for betrayal for extending support to the BJP to form the coalition government led by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, the GPCC chief said the Maharashtra poll has sent a clear message that people will not accept defectors and turncoats in politics. “If Vijai Sardesai says that the people of Goa will teach the Congress defectors a lesson, he too will meet a similar fate. Sardesai had not only betrayed the mandate of the people of Goa in 2017, but had betrayed the trust reposed in him by the people of Fatorda. The people of Fatorda had voted for Sardesai to keep the BJP at bay, but the Goa Forward chief betrayed the trust and formed the government with the BJP,”
he said.
The GPCC chief made it clear that the Goa Forward party had won the 2017 Assembly election on the anti-BJP plank, saying there’s even a video quoting Sardesai as saying that those supporting the BJP will be cursed.
To a question, Chodankar said that the political developments in Goa would have been different today had not the Goa Forward party supported the BJP to form the coalition government in 2017.
He, however, expressed satisfaction that political defectors, not only in Maharashtra, but in other states have been shown the door by the electorate. “It has happened in Maharashtra and in the bypolls in other states. The elections and by-elections have sent a clear message that people will not tolerate anyone jumping parties after elections,” Chodankar added.
