MARGAO
Sarzora Sarpanch Sabita Mascarenhas was on Wednesday voted out of office, but not before her supporters staged a protest near the panchayat ghar expressing their solidarity with her.
Though the motion was signed by four members against the Sarpanch, it was finally carried by 5-2 votes.
Attired in black clothes, the supporters rallied behind the outgoing Sarpanch as she vowed not to allow any illegalities in the village and across Goa.
While Sabita claimed that she has been voted out by the members in connivance by the local Minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues and the neighbouring MLA, the signatories to the motion contended that they had tabled the no-trust motion against the Sarpanch since development works had suffered in their wards and that the Sarpanch was not taking them into confidence.
As Sabita’s supporters raised a banner of protest outside, a Panch member, who is a signatory to the motion, said the outgoing sarpanch did not take the panch members into confidence. “The Sarpanch may claim anything, but one thing is clear that our wards had suffered for want of development and people had questioned us time and again”, a signatory said.
Another signatory pointed out that the allegations of illegalities have nothing to do with the no trust motion against the Sarpanch, saying the four members had decided to oust the Sarpanch on the development front.
Sabita, however, told the media that the local Minister and a neighbouring MLA were all hand in gloves to oust her form office, saying it was a game played by them since she was actively taking part in all agitations across the state.
“The panch members might have succeeded in voting me out of office, but I will stand for my village and Goa and will never allow the Minsters and MLAs to do anything”, she said, adding “if I hadn’t done the development work, the people of my village would not have come to my support”.
