MARGAO: Ridiculing the Chief Minister’s statement that the government has approached Supreme Court to establish democracy in municipal polls, Goa Forward Party (GFP) president Vijai Sardesai said the municipal poll reservation fiasco is a premeditated murder of democracy, and the temerity of the Chief Minister to make such an absurd statement after having been reprimanded severely by the High Court for gross constitutional violations, and also after sharp criticism by Mauvin Godinho, a minister in the Sawant led BJP government, is laughable.
Sardesai questioned why the post of the State Election Commissioner is left vacant since the resignation of the R K Shrivastava, IAS, four months ago. Sardesai alleged that the appointment of Choka Ram Garg, IAS as the State Election Commissioner who is also the Law Secretary of the present day government, compromises the neutrality of the State Election Commission. He charged that the Chief Minister has intentionally appointed a secretary of his government as the State Election Commissioner to umpire a match that he has fixed, thus committing fraud on the people of Goa.
He alleged that the Law Secretary who had hastily approved a file to allow cultivation of marijuana in Goa is the same man who tried to manipulate the reservation of wards in the municipal polls at the behest of the ruling BJP.
Sardesai said, “This is gross constitutional impropriety and a serious violation of constitutional provisions by the government and the bureaucracy.”
He criticized the Central BJP government for not having appointed a full time Governor to the State of Goa and added that the present Governor of Maharashtra Koshyari is unavailable to attend to the difficulties of Goans.
He questioned why a full-fledged State does not have a full time governor for elected representatives to seek justice in times of such illegalities committed by the government.
Sardesai also demanded a full-fledged inquiry into the death of a Goa State Electricity Department staff member.
He demanded that the death of Rajkumar Shetye, an employee of the power department, who committed suicide by consuming pesticide, needs to be thoroughly investigated for abetment by ministers in the present day government.
Sardesai explained how the deceased made a dying declaration to the police that he resorted to this unfortunate step due to inexplicable pressure and harassment by the government because his parents worked for the independent Zilla Parishad candidate Bharti Sawal in Torsem, Pernem, during the recently concluded ZP polls.
He criticised the government for having stooped so low that ministers are pushing the youth to suicide. Sardesai demanded that the responsible minister be sacked immediately.
