PANJIM
The marathon discussion on Mhadei had its moments of members taking political shots at opponents, the most engrossing of which was an exchange between Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and his persistent detractor, Goa Forward Party's Vijai Sardesai.
It began with Sardesai taunting the Chief Minister to quit if he fails to get the Centre to withdraw the consent to the DPRs. In the alternative, Sardesai said if Sawant goes to Karnataka to campaign for the party in the elections there and in speeches states that he will not allow diversion of Mhadei waters, then he (Vijai) will switch sides to ruling side officially and unconditionally -- "no koka...nothing".
But Sawant was not one to take Sardesai's taunts lying down.
"If I go to Karnataka and campaign as you say, will Mhadei issue be resolved? If you switch sides from that side to my side, will it be resolved”, he asked.
Earlier, during his speech on the Mhadei discussion Sardesai kept targeting Sawant and even sought that like the New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who has announced she would voluntarily renounce her office, he too should quit if he is unable to convince the Centre.
"My stand is clear, I am with the Chief Minister completely. But he should state firmly that he will get the DPRs' consent withdrawn within 15 days," Sardesai said, even as he taunted him as to why he was uncertain of himself when his second engine was in power at the Centre.
'Double Engine' is a terminology used by the BJP to refer to the complimentary nature of its party governments in the States and the Centre.
Sawant, however, hit back at Sardesai pointing out that when he shared power with the BJP in 2018 when the Tribunal award was passed, he had publicly called it a 'victory for Goa'.
"Unlike others, my stand on Mhadei does not change as per political convenience," Sawant said.
