Neshwin Almeida
CUNCOLIM: It was a rabbit waiting to be pulled out. And AAP’s chief Arvind Kejriwal chose Goa’s Liberation Day to formally announce Elvis Gomes as its Chief Ministerial candidate for Goa, something which he has not done in other poll- bound states like Punjab where the AAP expects to make an impact.
In the middle of his speech at an election rally, which formally launched the party’s final home stretch campaign. “Elvis Gomes, quit bureaucracy like me and gave up his ambitions of growing in governance. I hereby declare him the Chief Ministerial candidate of Goa and entrust AAP Goa to him to lead the party to victory”. He also asked people to vote across Goa in a manner that they choose between Parsekar versus Elvis in the coming polls. Elvis then stated that he has no family in politics and has no favoritism to do, so he accepts the decision of Arvind Kejrival.
The speeches began with Elvis Gomes remembering his days in the bureaucracy and the many postings he had. He reminded Goans there was HSRP number plates scam, mining scams, Regional Plan scam, casino scams and SEZ scams and the BJP chanced on these, yelled about them and came to power in 2012.
“There was no one arrest, no investigation while the BJP itself went on make more scams and was the most corrupt government. The BJP and the Congress should either apologise on misleading Goans on these scams or they should punish the politicians involved,” stated an angry Elvis.
Using an anecdote to make people understand that Louis-Berger was a joint venture theft from America, Elvis stated that one wing of the new Colvale prison is yet to be constructed and that as former IG Prisons, he wants to complete that wing and ensure that the same politicos of today are languishing in the jail.
Alleging that in Cuncolim itself there was a Rs 30 lakh scam and bulbs were never purchased and with him at helm then the scam was exposed but nothing was done. Alleging that MLAs and bureaucrats have been indulging in a relatives raj in Goa of only promoting their own people and hence he quit the system to change it as a politician.
“I don’t care on losing out on being an IAS officer or a big officer in the administration, as part of the AAP government in Goa, I will ensure that 100s of our boys join the civil service,” stated Elvis.
He also called the MGP-BJP to have a husband and wife relationship and continuously patch up and fight but he took a dig at Sudin Dhavalikar as to why he didn’t pull out of the government earlier in the last five years if he felt suffocated.
Reacting to Gomes being declared CM candidates, Congress spokesperson Sunil Kawthankar said, “It’s like a joke. A party that has come to Goa for the first time is confident that it will come to power and is announcing a CM candidate. What to comment on this? Let the person first get elected, let people decide.”
BJP senior Vice-President Damodar Naik said, “Arvind Kejriwal was also a bureaucrat and people know the way he has made a mockery in Delhi. He wants to replicate the same in Goa by choosing Elvis Gomes as CM candidate who is also a former bureaucrat.”
