Team Herald
PANJIM: Asserting that there is no issue of leadership change required as Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar continues to be their leader, BJP’s ally Goa Forward Party (GFP) on Tuesday said that the coalition partners should not be taken for granted in case any “decision on the issue is to be taken”.
Speaking to media persons, GFP President Vijai Sardesai said, “By and large we were together under the leadership of Manohar Parrikar. We had all come together under his leadership. He is there and we are listening to him. But if any other decision is to be taken with regards to leadership, then we all will have to sit and discuss. Nobody can be taken for granted,” he said.
Sardesai also said that all the coalition partners have to behave responsibly. “We should understand that Goans have expectations from us. We should also not forget under what circumstances we had formed the government,” he stated.
“The onus is on us to maintain stability, otherwise people will judge us for not being united,” Sardesai, who is agriculture minister in the government, said referring to Independent MLA and Minister Govind Gaude’s statement that MGP should go out of government and then accuse it.
Referring to MGP demand that a seniormost MLA be given charge in the absence of Parrikar, Sardesai said, “Sudin (Dhavalikar) claims himself to be senior, which is true. Sudin has played equally important role. But Parrikar is there and there is no question of leadership,” he said. He further said he has no problem with MGP and that there is no truth that they don’t gel well.
Sardesai, once again ruled out mid-term polls in the State claiming that “no one can afford the elections.” “None of the MLAs want mid-term polls. Congress MLAs, also, don’t want polls. If they feel that there is an election then the second batch of the Congress leaders leaving the party would be bigger than the first,” he said.
Two Congress MLAs – Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte –left the party earlier this month to join BJP. They had also resigned as MLAs.
Sardesai alleged that Congress spokesman Jitendra Deshprabhu, who had questioned the existence of the chief minister, was doing it to divert the attention of its MLAs from leaving the party. “No Goan will like the way Deshprabhu is talking. You are sensationalising somebody’s health issue, which has developed out of pure bad luck,” he said.a
