PANAJI: Former senior officer of the Goa civil services Elvis Gomes on Wednesday joined the Aam Admi Party and was welcomed into the party by AAP senior leader and Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia.
Gomes stated that the people of the state had a lot of expectations from the BJP-led government but as the five-year-term comes to a close the people feel frustrated.
He said, “I felt the only option that I could take to come out of this situation was to join not just this party but join this movement and do something for Goa.”
Gomes stated that from the many options he chose the AAP so as to unleash the power of the common man and see that the administration, which has practically crumbled, is restored for the common man.
Hitting back at those who have accused the AAP of being an outsider party to the state of Goa, he said, “Nobody should be under an impression that this movement is of outsiders and someone has come from outside the state with this movement. The people who say that AAP is an outsider (party) ought to first answer the question: whether those parties that governed the state till date were outsider parties or not. This is a movement of Goans and I appeal to all Goans to join this movement.”
Speaking his mind about the functioning of bureaucracy of the state, Gomes said, “I have seen this administration very closely for around 19 years. Officers are instruments and the hands that use these instruments have become weak, and I don’t know what the reasons are. We have no idea as to whom they want to please at the cost of Goans.”
Stating that the government has corroded and the administrative officers are forced to oil it to smoothen the functioning, Gomes said the people have decided to bring in the “new machinery”.
“There is no end to corruption here. It is not the Chief Minister or any other minister, but the situation is such that the lowest functionary in the government can also influence the decision making process of the government,” he observed.
Responding to a question on the cases filed against him, Gomes said, “It is clear to everyone that the cases filed against me are completely bogus. I have challenged the FIR in the High Court and I leave it to the judiciary to deal with that.”
Expressing confidence of AAP’s victory in the 2017 assembly elections, Sisodia said, “People of Goa had uprooted Congress and brought the BJP last time. But there has been no change and the BJP has continued doing what the Congress had done. Therefore the people of Goa have decided to uproot the BJP and bring the AAP in the state.”
Elvis says he will contest elections from Cuncolim
PANAJI: Former senior officer of the Goa civil services Elvis Gomes, who joined the Aam Admi Party on Wednesday, confirmed that he would contest the 2017 assembly polls from the Cuncolim constituency. “I will contest from my home constituency as the people know me better than the others,” he stated. AAP sources said that Gomes is expected to be declared as the face of the AAP campaign in Goa and would be announced as its chief ministerial candidate. However, when AAP senior leader and Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia was asked to comment, he said that no such decision has been taken as yet stating that the decision on CM candidate would be conveyed whenever it is taken by the party. NT