MARGAO: In a scathing attack on Nuvem BJP MLA Aleixo Sequeira, South Goa Congress candidate Capt Viriato Fernandes criticised the duplicity of the former Congress MLA who had defected to the BJP, despite having taken to God that he would not jump parties.
During a public meeting held in Nuvem, Fernandes hit out at Sequeira for not only making a mockery of God but also the people of Nuvem by the manner in which he had joined the BJP, which Fernandes said betrayed Sequeira’s real intention of contesting the Assembly elections.
Fernandes accused Sequeira of only being interested in his personal gains rather than those of the public, and he alleged that Seqeuira used to be close to the BJP when the Congress was in power and the (late) Manohar Parrikar was the Goa Leader of Opposition (LoP).
Fernandes also offered an apology on behalf of Congress for giving Sequeira a ticket.
He also pointed out that ever since the turncoat Congress MLAs joined the BJP, there has been an acute water shortage in Goa, even as the State and Central governments keep on boasting about how each house receives water supply.
Fernandes pointed out that there is no water supply in Nuvem constituency itself and that Sequeira is allegedly trying to lure the voters by providing them with water tanks.
Fernandes hoped that the people wouldn’t fall for such tactics, as the elections will shape the future of the country and State and urged them to be conscious of that fact before voting.
He also expressed alarm about speculation about attempts to lure Catholics into taking a train to Vailankanni a day before the elections and said if such people do miss the elections for such a trip, then history would bear witness to their actions.
Fernandes urged the public to think about what will happen to Goa in the next ten years and how the children of today may find it difficult to buy a house for themselves and their family in the future given that ‘parties from Delhi’ are buying up the land in the State.
He blamed the State government for deliberately weakening the laws, such as amendments to the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act, to allow large-scale real estate construction at the cost of alleged hill cutting and environmental degradation that the government is purposely turning a blind eye to.
Why were identity of donors through electoral bonds kept anonymous? Capt Viriato
MARGAO: INDIA Bloc’s South Goa candidate Capt Viriato Fernandes on Tuesday demanded that the Prime Minister must explain to the people how some companies donated to the BJP through electoral bonds immediately after they came on the radar of various probe agencies like CBI, IT and ED.
Capt Viriato said, “If the BJP wanted to maintain transparency, why was the identity of donors kept anonymous?”
Capt Viriato was referring to a recent interview of the Prime Minister where told a news agency that everyone will regret the decision of the Supreme Court to scrap the electoral bond scheme, as the policy was providing crucial information about the trail of the money, and all the stakeholders involved in the political funding. Modi’s remarks came two months after the Supreme Court struck down the electoral bond scheme, declaring it ‘unconstitutional’.
