PANAJI: With an aim to provide exposure to youth and women, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), on Tuesday, said that it will be targeting 8-10 panchayats in the upcoming panchayat elections.
“We will target 8-10 panchayats, and back candidates subscribing to our ideology,” said state AAP convenor Elvis Gomes.
Gomes said that in this panchayat elections, the AAP would encourage youth and women to come forward and take up the challenge.
When asked as to whether the AAP would fight the by-elections in Valpoi and Panaji, he said that the AAP will be ready to contest by-poll in the Valpoi constituency, and will also field a candidate in Panaji against Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
Endorsing AAP’s national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s views over tampering of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in other states, Gomes said that having noticed that EVMs can be tampered with, EVMs used in Goa elections could also have been tempered with.
“During the post-election analysis, five of our candidates complained about the possibility of tampering with electronic voting machines (EVMs) and after examination we have reported the matter to the party head office,” he said.
He questioned as to why the Goa government failed to present the case before the Supreme Court on liquor ban like Sikkim and Meghalaya, which sought exemptions and special provisions, and said, “The government would have gone into overdrive if major hotel lobby was to be affected by the order.”
Citing a news report, Gomes claimed that state government has converted 229 kilometres of district roads into state and national highways.
“Common man’s interest has not been protected by anybody. There is no holistic approach, so as to find out the exact reason and the number of accidents occurring due to drunk driving,” he added
He criticised Goa government for failing to control the flow of drugs into the state.
“When a minister accepts that police officials are involved in drug trade, then it is a major question before us as to which direction the state is heading to,” he said.
The AAP also condemned the Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai’s statement that the government can’t be completed Regional Plan (RP) 2021 by December 2017.
“Sardesai as an agent and broker of real estate business, and is trying to delay the finalisation of RP 2021 because he has vested interest to get all that is required,” said AAP member Venzy Viegas.
The AAP alleged that BJP-led state government started land filing for four and six-lane highways across Goa without conducting any environmental assessment study and without acquiring the land.
“AAP will not allow the destruction of Goa’s environment, and we will keep fighting to preserve the culture and heritage of the state,” he said.