Team Herald
PANJIM: In the absence of (late) former MLA and CM Manohar Parrikar, Valmiki Naik, who is contesting the Panjim by-poll has asserted that only Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) can provide leadership and vision to the capital city.
After filing the nomination for the by-elections, Valmiki said that both BJP and Congress have failed to develop leadership as Parrikar was the sole dominant factor in Panjim.
“Under Manohar Parrikar neither BJP developed any leaders and nor did Congress. Today Congress also does not have a candidate. They didn’t have a candidate this time or in the 2017 by-poll and had to import Girish Chodankar from Margao. They don’t have leaders, neither priorities nor any vision for Panjim”, he added.
Valmiki further said that the election process is another freedom struggle to save the democracy and hence in a symbolic gesture he along with several party leaders and workers paid respects to the martyrs at the Azad Maidan memorial in Panjim before filing his nomination.
“We are still slaves as the development is only for the corporate friends of the BJP and not for the common man. People have an alternative now in the form of AAP. Today people do not want BJP anywhere in the country”, he stated.
Attacking Congress, Valmiki said that the party has nominated a person (Atanasio Babush Monserrate) who ditched the party in 2017 from the by-polls only to help Parrikar and the BJP and the Congress had to field Chodankar.
