19 Aug 2017 | 04:42am IST
For Vijai, Parrikar is a ‘changed man’
Appeals to Panjim voters to vote for Parrikar; Says offshore casinos are not an issue in the by-election;
PANJIM: Reaffirming his support to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who according to the coalition partner is a ‘changed man’, Goa Forward Party (GFP) on Friday said that offshore casinos are not an issue in the August 23 Panjim by-election.
Addressing media persons, GFP President and TCP Minister, Vijai Sardesai said he believes that Panjim voters know and they need not be told, yet the party is reaffirming its unstinted support to Parrikar. “I appeal to the voters to vote for Parrikar as he is the only one who can lead the State today. Let us not focus on the imported candidate (Congress),” Sardesai said.
Sardesai was one of Parrikar’s strongest critics during the last term of the Legislative Assembly, but after the 2017 election, his party joined the latter to form the government.
“Parrikar is a changed person. He is willing to correct mistakes which people see as mistakes that he (Parrikar) or previous BJP governments did like declassifying coconut as a palm or amending Tenancy Act which had faced the opposition,” he said.
“It looks like after debate and discussion, Parrikar has shown the capability to change. He is the only man who can deliver what we want. We are a coalition of different political parties which have come under his leadership. Parrikar was brought back for development with communal harmony and secularism,” Sardesai said.
Responding to a question about moving out offshore casinos from River Mandovi, Sardesai said, “If anyone can remove a casino from Mandovi then it would be our government. I don’t think casino is a real issue for the Panjim by-election but it is an issue for Goa. The people of Goa want to see Mandovi without casinos,” he stated.
“I am thankful to them (Congress) because they are copying our programme,” he said when asked about BJP’s silence on casinos while Congress has promised to get rid of casinos.
Reacting to another question, Sardesai said, “We are not permanently glued to BJP. If NDA government does something which actually amounts to fascism, then we are not permanently glued to the BJP.”
