NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari did not meet Maharashtrawadi Gomantak leader Ramakrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar during his Goa visit to discuss the prospects of the Bharatiya Janata Party-MGP coalition for the forthcoming state assembly election.
Coming out with this information, state BJP president Vinay Tendulkar told this daily that Gadkari, however, addressed the meeting of the core committee of the state BJP unit. “The Dhavalikars have already stated that they want Parsekar out as the Chief Minister before starting such talks, and further maintained that they don’t want to hold talks with either Gadkari or Parrikar,” he retorted, almost indicating that the BJP-MGP tie-up is over.
Speaking further, Tendulkar said that the election-related activities of his party, especially about the finalisation of its candidates would gather speed once the Election Commission of India comes out with the date of election for Goa.
Meanwhile, Fr Zeferino D’Souza, the secretary of Diocesan Society of Education, met the BJP leaders on Thursday. Although details of the meeting are not out, sources informed this daily that the BJP is trying to solicit the support of the Church on the issue pertaining to the medium of instruction/ grants to primary English schools, as a strategy against the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch and its political outfit Goa Suraksha Manch.
Fr D’Souza, however, maintained that he had met Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar as regards some matters of the Diocesan Society of Education related to the central government.
