VALPOI: Valpoi Municipal Council (VMC), which enjoys the backing of Congress party, on Monday, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of sidelining the chairperson and council members for public functions.
The members said that they were not invited for the inauguration function of Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva Yojana held at community health centre, Valpoi at the hands of Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza. They also said that there was no official invitation for the council or the chief officer for the function however it was wrongly proclaimed that the VMC had boycotted the function.
VMC chairperson Ramdas Shirodkar said, “I don’t understand whether the function was for BJP party cadres or for the general public. Neither me nor the chief officer was invited for the inaugural function though it was held in the civic body’s jurisdiction.”
Expressing similar view, VMC chief officer Cynthia Mesquita said that she too had not received any formal invitation for the function. Council members said, “As per protocol and being first citizen of Valpoi, the chairperson should get the invitation of any public function. But BJP kept us away from such public functions. I guess the insurance scheme is only for BJP party members not for general public”.
Shirodkar further said that the concerned department should not play such dirty politics as it is unhealthy for democracy and will ultimately create rift in society.
