TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Congress party on Monday criticised the PWD Minister and MGP leader Ramakrishna Dhavalikar’s plans of erecting statues of four lions at Kranti Maidan, Ponda, alleging that he was converting the public park into a political playground, under the guise of beautification. The opposition also demanded a vigilance inquiry into the matter.
“Public Works Department Minister (Dhavalikar) is the Mayawati (BSP chief) of Goa,” Congress spokesperson Durgadas Kamat charged, during a press conference Monday evening. Mayawati had installed elephant sculptures all over Uttar Pradesh that had courted controversy during the UP State elections in 2012, leading the Election Commission of India to raise objections.
Monday morning Kamat filed a complaint before the Vigilance Department in connection with the corruption and irregularities in the award of PWD tender pertaining to beautification of Kranti Maidan. The complainant has charged Dhavalikar of using his ministry to convert the Kranti maidan into MGP’s political playground by installing four statues of lions, the MGP symbol, each costing Rs 18 lakh.
