Team Herald
PANJIM: The Ruling as well as Opposition legislators expressed discontent over Governor PS Pillai’s failure to mention the Mhadei river diversion issue in his customary address delivered to the House on Monday.
On Tuesday, while speaking on the ‘Motion of Thanks’ on the Governor’s address, MLAs said that they were left disappointed as the Governor failed to make a mention of the contentious and much-debated Mhadei river.
Fatorda’s GFP MLA Vijai Sardesai said that Goa’s lifeline ‘Mhadei’ was completely neglected in the Governor’s address. He said that the Governor’s address is a constitutional requirement, but he has powers to deviate from what the Government wants him to say.
“The Tamil Nadu Governor has set the precedent,” he said. “Governor spoke on Tillari irrigation project, on the Amrit Sarovar Mission, but made no mention of the Mhadei,” Sardesai said, adding that the Governor’s address was a huge let-down.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators- Venzy Viegas and Cruz Silva too questioned the Governor’s silence on the Mhadei. Viegas said, “It was very painful to see that the Governor failed to make a mention of Mhadei in his address. Such a burning issue, and it was not touched”. While appreciating the Governor for his constituency visits, the MLA said that a visit to the Mhadei should not have been missed.
“The BJP government at the Centre cannot take Goans for a ride and promise Karnataka, which is going for election,” Silva said, urging the State to immediately ask the Centre to withdraw the approval granted to the DPR to divert the Mhadei’s waters.
BJP Siolim MLA Delilah Lobo said that the Governor’s speech should have mentioned the Mhadei dispute, which is a burning issue at this point of time. “However, it was not mentioned” she said.
Independent MLA from Bicholim, Chandrakant Shetye also said that he would have appreciated it more if the Governor had given his opinion on the Mhadei. “Mhadei is a State issue. It is in the interest of the State,” he said.
The Opposition had on Monday created a ruckus in the House during the Governor’s address, demanding clarification on the approval granted by the Centre to Karnataka’s Kalasa-Bhandura project DPR.
