Team Herald
PANJIM: Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over Karnataka’s plans to divert Mhadei River at Kalasa-Banduri, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday demanded Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s resignation for “fooling the people of Goa” over his “false and contradictory statements”.
AAP also announced that the party is launching a movement to unite all Goans to highlight this issue and called upon all Opposition as well as ruling MLAs to join the protest to save Mhadei River in the interest of future generations.
Speaking to reporters, AAP State president Adv Amit Palekar charged that Sawant has conspired with the Central government in granting approval for the Kalasa-Banduri water project in view of the forthcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka.
“BJP has sold Mhadei to Karnataka. Goa government has not made any efforts in this matter. The Chief Minister has failed us, he is telling us lies. Should he not resign for failing to convince the Centre to safeguard Goa’s interests?” asked Palekar.
Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas said that the Chief Minister is trying to confuse people by making statements that Karnataka still needs to get approvals based on the Forest Act. The Opposition must unite inside and outside the Assembly. The Governor needs to talk on the Mhadei issue in his address to Assembly (on January 16),” he said.
AAP Goa leader Valmiki Naik said that BJP has once again betrayed Goans. Five years ago in 2017, then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had handed over a letter to then Karnataka Opposition leader B S Yediyurappa stating that Goa is not opposed to giving water to Karnataka on humanitarian grounds. The announcement by the Central Water Commission is timed with Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally at Bhanduri on Friday, he said.
AAP leader Prof Ramrao Wagh said that the Chief Minister needs to condemn recent statements by his Karnataka counterpart over issuing tenders to construct the project.
