NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Coming out heavily against the Congress party for levelling allegations at him pertaining to a plot to topple the Parrikar government, Minister for Town and Country Planning Vijai Sardesai on Wednesday said in the state legislative assembly that his Goa Forward Party and Manohar Parrikar’s Bharatiya Janata Party have faith in each other, and that the present government would complete five years of its tenure.
“The present government is enjoying stability from day one of its formation,” he added.
Participating in a congratulatory motion related to the election of Vinay Tendulkar as Rajya Sabha member from Goa, Sardesai stated that the Congress party has become a grandfathers’ club.
“The Congress is suffering from policy paralysis,” he observed, further urging the Opposition Congress MLAs to learn to work properly as legislators.
Literally hurt by the recent allegation levelled at him by the Congress desk in-charge for Goa Chella Kumar that he recently planned to topple Parrikar government, when the Chief Minister was in the US, Sardesai said that when Parrikar was in the US, he was also out of the country. He further alleged that the Congressmen have made money not only for their children but also grandchildren.
Giving vent to his anger, he also took a dig at Chella Kumar stating that some Congress high command representatives arrive in Goa wearing lungi in the morning, and visit discos wearing jeans in the evening.
The Minister for Town and Country Planning also equated the cross-voting that had taken place in Goa, during the presidential poll to the surgical strike, maintaining that the Congress party, fearing the repeat had to import an observer from Maharashtra for the election of the Rajya Sabha member from Goa.
“After what happened yesterday, you can imagine what would happen to your party,” he retorted, referring to the entry of the prospective Congress candidate for Panaji by-poll Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate in the GFP.
Sardesai also maintained that the ruling party is no more interested in splitting the Congress MLAs any further. “This is solemn assurance to the people of Goa that we will not split the Congress legislature party further,” he added, pointing out, “We will win over the hearts of people of Goa by our performance.”
Opposition leader Chandrakant ‘Babu’ Kavalekar said the Minister for Town and Country Planning was speaking nothing about the congratulatory motion, and stated that Sardesai had no right to speak about the Congress high command.
Senior Congress MLA, Pratapsing Rane took objection to the speech of Sardesai.