MARGAO
On the eve of the Zilla Panchayat polls scheduled on December 12, Goa Forward Party president Vijai Sardesai has urged Goemkars to defeat the BJP candidates in the Zilla Panchayat polls, saying it is high time that the BJP is defeated in the State to #SaveGoaNow for posterity.
Saying that the Pramod Sawant government has cheated Goemkars on the issue of coal transportation, double-tracking and Mhadei, Sardesai further said that though the opposition is united in the fight against coal, double-tracking and the Mhadei issue, opposition parties should have come together and given an alternative to the voters for the Zilla Panchayat elections.
“In the absence of an alternative alliance and due to flagrant code violations and cheating and an pliant and inactive State Election Commission, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is likely to use this Zilla Panchayat elections to be seen as a stamp of approval of popularity for himself when in reality he is unpopular and hated,” said Sardesai.
“The way the opposition united for the cause of farmers in the country and against coal, double-tracking and Mhadei diversion in the State, in the same way the opposition should have united to defeat the BJP in the Zilla Panchayat polls. But in the absence of this unity, the intelligent voters will have to strategically vote for that candidate in their respective Zilla constituency who is best placed to defeat the candidate of the ruling BJP or its supporting ally MLA,” he added.
Saying that Sawant is working as a middleman and forwarding agent for Adani and Jindal by facilitating transportation of coal from MPT to steel plants in Karnataka, he said around 12-15 million metric tonnes of coal and coke is imported via Goa’s Mormugao Port by steel units in Karnataka. “The rail double-tracking is also being done to facilitate the transportation of coal from MPT to Karnataka, which will not only be a cause of massive pollution in the State but would also destroy the ecological balance and environment in the State,” he added.
On the Mhadei issue, Sardesai said the Chief Minister has already sold Mhadei to Karnataka which he considered much more than a mother to him, adding ‘though the government has filed contempt petitions in the Supreme Court, the Chief Minister doesn’t care whether the matter comes up for hearing or not’.
