PANJIM: While the Congress has launched a scathing attack against Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar for the misuse of power in occupying two official bungalows within a kilometer away from each other, for the ruling BJP this is not a “serious offence”
The Herald, on Thursday, had reported how the chief minister has misused his powers and got himself allocated an additional official bungalow to himself making the chief minister’s official residence ‘Mahalaxmi’ a camp office, and allotting the bungalow he occupied as health minister, as the chief minister’s official residence. This was done vide one official order, which the Herald has and is publishing it with this story.
Raising a strong objection to this illegality, the Congress party has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in the matter, requesting him to direct the chief minister to vacate any one of the two bungalows. The Congress has said that this is not seen as good governance but a sad example of exploitation of power.
“We do not understand the need of the chief minister having two bungalows within a radius of a few kilometers, thereby further burdening the already suffering state exchequer,” Congress spokesperson Sunil Khawtankar has said in his letter to the prime minister.
Khawtankar said that it is unlawful to occupy two government accommodations by a single individual, but the irony lies in the fact that this illegal act has been done by the head of the state. He also pointed out that former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar used to use the Mahalaxmi bungalow alone as his official residence.
When contacted, Congress president and former Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro alleged that the example set by the chief minister will have a very bad image on the government. “Power should not make a person greedy,” he said adding “power is something that should be used for welfare of the public and not for your own welfare”.
Meanwhile, not surprisingly, the BJP finds the entire act as “normal” and not a “serious offence”. “There is nothing big in having two official accommodations, unless any minister comes and states that he is deprived of a bungalow because the chief minister is occupying two,” BJP spokesperson Dr Wilfred Mesquita said.
Dr Mesquita also added that converting the official chief minister’s residence into a camp office is also “not a big issue”, considering that even former Chief Minister (Parrikar) used the Mahalaxmi bungalow as his camp office. “The fact, however, is that Mr Parrikar did not use another official bungalow as his residence. He in fact lived in his son’s apartment in Dona Paula.”
Parsekar, clearly, is enjoying his ache din, after his mentor and master, Mr Parrikar left for Delhi to become India’s defence minister leaving Goa in his hands.
