TEAM HERALD
VASCO: Reacting to the statement made by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar who said he told Environment and Forests Minister Alina Saldanha to shut her mouth on marinas, Saldanha said that she was shocked to read this statement that has left her in surprise.
“With due respect to the honourable chief minister, I beg to defer from the statement that he made. I don’t know whether he really made this statement or not but in any case I would like to make things clear that it started with a statement that appeared in press where I was wrongly quoted and I made it clear with the chief minister that the word ‘challenge’ is not my word. I met the CM and explained to him everything after the meeting I even asked him whether I should give a rebuttal and he advised me to avoid the same as it would have given opportunity to the press to create another story,” she said.
Saldanha said, “The words ‘shut your mouth’ were never uttered by the CM. I am really surprised and also hurt because I think every individual needs respect and as a woman and widow of late Matanhy Saldanha I should get the respect that I deserve. I think I am going through patches which I don’t appreciate,” a visibly hurt Saldanha said.
On Friday, Parsekar had said that he had told Saldanha to shut her mouth on marinas when she had approached him on the marina issues and said she had been misquoted.
Commenting on the statement of the chief minister where the CM had said that Saldanha had never spoken to him about her opposition on marinas, she said, “The statement of the chief minister that I never spoke about my stand on marinas is incorrect and I would like to make it clear that my stand on marinas started in the year 2012 when I requested the Goa State Bio Diversity Board to conduct a report on the biodiversity of Sancoale bay. As soon as I got the report I made a note and presented the same to the then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. In my note I had said that I do not agree with setting up marinas at Sancoale and he had agreed to my request and had assured me that if any party approaches him the government will tell them that marinas will not be allowed after which I thought the issue was dead.”
“Then suddenly after the formation of the State Investment Promotion Board, I was told that two places have been identified for the marina project. Hearing this, I wrote a note to Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and in that note I again put my fears likewise the note that I had written to Parrikar as CM and thus Parsekar cannot say that he is not aware about my stand on marinas,” she said.
Commenting on her present stand on marinas she also said, “The whole of Goa is aware of my stand and once again I am saying that I am not against marinas in principle but I am definitely against setting up marinas at Sancoale and Nauxim because the sites selected are not right,” Saldanha said.
Talking about her hardships after the news appeared about CM’s statement she said, “I received countless calls since morning with people saying that they are with me and I am still amazed as to whether our CM really made this statement. I haven’t met him but I am surprised to hear the statement,” she told Herald.
