PANJIM: Though the party heaved a sigh of relief after Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik clarified on his corruption remark against the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Goa, the local unit of the party has stood by its statement asking Malik to resign from the constitutional post to speak out against the government. It also said the Malik had appreciated the handling of the pandemic by the government.
“A Governor holds a constitutional post. If he (Malik) wants to play politics, he should have first resigned (as Goa Governor), joined a party of his choice and then made allegations against the Goa government. Else he should make good use of his office as Governor of Meghalaya. He should respect the sanctity of his constitutional position and not defile it by making vague political allegations,” BJP State president Sadanand Shet Tanavade said while addressing the media on Wednesday.
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Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant has come under a scathing attack from opposition parties demanding that the chief minister step down citing Malik’s remarks that he saw firsthand “corruption in everything the Goa government was handling”. On Tuesday, BJP general secretary Damodar Naik had also demanded that Malik should resign as Governor if he wants to make allegations against the government.
After a turbulent two days, the former Goa Governor clarified that he had never named the Goa CM as being involved in corruption and asked the opposition to not misuse his statement against the government.
Tanavade further said that Goa’s COVID-19 management was highly appreciated by Malik himself while he served as Goa Governor. Leveling allegations after over a year, the party president said, was not appropriate for a veteran holding a responsible post.
Tanavade also slammed a national news anchor for ‘instigating’ Malik to speak against the Goa government during a TV interview. “It is a conspiracy hatched by the journalist who holds a grudge against the BJP and Sangh. He (journalist) put words in his (Malik) mouth and unfortunately, the former Goa Governor fell prey to the tricky questions asked by the journalist,” he said.
