TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai on Monday lashed out at the government for scheduling the ensuing budget session of the Goa Legislative Assembly coinciding with the Carnival festivities.
He explained that Carnival, which is not only a major tourism related festival, but which includes participation by all Goan religious communities, especially the minority community is to be held on March 2-3.
“The clashing of this Assembly session with the Carnival dates is strange and difficult to comprehend. These dates have been finalized specifically on the recommendations of the BJP government and not on recommendations of the Business Advisory Committee. I wish to refresh public memory to remind people of Goa that the BJP government under the same Chief Minister during his earlier innings had cancelled Good Friday as a public holiday. At that time, Parrikar had remarked that “there was nobody to us”.
Today,, he has six BJP Catholic MLAs and four other supporting Catholic MLAs to guide him. This question now is whether they have guided him and if so for what. Is it to ensure that proactive opposition legislators do not get a chance to celebrate carnival with their well-wishers”, he demanded to know.
Vijai recalled that during the last session, the opposition had to boycott the legislative assembly proceedings for one day when it clashed with the Eid festival, while demanding immediate rescheduling of the forthcoming sessions keeping in mind the traditions and cultural sentiments of Goans, especially the minority community.
“I wish to remind the government of a phrase “once is chance; twice is coincidence; but thrice is conspiracy”. We can take the first cancellation of Good Friday as chance, the Assembly session on Eid day as coincidence, but the Assembly session during carnival as surely proof of conspiracy against the minorities, sending them a subtle message that the government do not care for their traditions and sentiments.
