Team Herald
PERNEM: Former Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said newly-elected MLA Dayanand Sopte is nobody to issue him BJP’s loyalty certificate as the whole of Goa knows about my commitment towards the party.
Parsekar was reacting to Sopte’s charges accusing him of being disloyal to the BJP by indirectly supporting Independent candidate Jit Arolkar.
Parsekar said, “I was obviously unhappy and furious when Sopte joined the BJP. However, I had people’s support. At the March 10 meeting in Mandrem, I received huge positive response from the people and on March 13 I took a decision to be with BJP. I accepted the party decision to induct Sopte and since them I have not made any public or personal statement against him nor worked against him. Rather I preferred working in other constituencies.”
“When Sopte entered the BJP he had said Parsekar is the leader and knowledgeable person. However, he did not utter a single word against me before election as he was not sure about his victory. Sopte is a fake person. I don’t have to take loyalty lessons from him and he is nobody to give me any loyalty certificate because his standards are low,” Parsekar alleged.
On Sopte’s victory, Parsekar said, “The reason why Sopte won the Mandrem by-poll is due to the split in votes between the Independent and Congress candidates. The Independent candidate was a new face and a large number of people voted for in his favour. People were angry with Sopte and preferred to vote for Independent and Congress candidate and the split in votes led to Sopte’s win”, he claimed.
Earlier, soon after winning the by-poll, Sopte said, “Giving away the designation of MLA is not a small thing. It is a big and risky decision even though the people of Mandrem have been with me. The people gave me a big victory. Parsekar is not loyal to the party. Getting a portfolio in the government depends on the party’s decision.”
Meanwhile, Sopte’s supporters will hold a massive rally in Mandrem constituency on Friday.
Supporters of Congress, GSM and Independent candidate said Sopte’s win was due to the Modi wave spread across the country.
Many said they expected Sopte to win just because he is now in the Government and this will help in developing the constituency further.
