PANAJI
Goa Forward Party (GFP) MLA and Chief Vijai Sardesai, who is also the member of the House Committee on Mhadei, has hit out at the BJP leadership in Goa accusing it of trying to protect the interest of Karnataka, which has got 28 parliamentary seats, at the cost of Goa.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Sardesai has strongly criticized the government's failure to convene a meeting of the House Committee, which met only once since its inception in January, 2023. He has demanded that the House Committee should be dissolved before it becomes an “absolute farce”.
The Goan in its recent report had pointed out that despite an assurance on the Floor of the House to call for a meeting of the House Committee before February end, WRD Minister and Chairman of the Committee Subhash Shirodkar has failed to call for the same and said that he is waiting for the right time.
The Goan had learnt that no meeting will be held before the Lok Sabha elections, which are likely to be held in April/May.
“For BJP Goa, 28 parliament seats there (Karnataka) are more important than life sustaining water of lakhs of Goemkars in Goa,” he said adding that the utter callousness in which State government is handling Mhadei issue is shocking and underscores its complete and humiliating surrender to Karnataka.
The MLA said that he had warned the government of serious consequences including pipes running dry for the common people and demanded convening the House Committee.
“The fact that it has met only once, and that too a year ago exposes the ruling party’s insincerity, duplicity and betrayal,” he said.
More than a year after it was constituted to study the contentious issue related to Mhadei water diversion, the 12-members House Committee has met just once on February 8, 2023.
