PANJIM: The claims and counterclaims between the ruling BJP and the oppostion Congress over horse-trading of MLAs continued on Thursday, with this time, State Congress president Girish Chodankar denying the claim made by his BJP counterpart Vinay Tendulkar.
On Wednesday Tendulkar had claimed that a fortnight ago 10 Congress MLAs had wanted to merge the legislative unit of the opposition party into the BJP, however, their request was rejected by the party high command. He had also said that the Congress president should have some control over his MLAs and not blame BJP of offering packages.
Addressing media persons on Thursday, Chodankar reacted sharply saying, “All our 15 MLAs are intact. Post Tendulkar’s claim, I spoke to all our MLAs, who denied of moving any such proposal. Hence, I would request BJP and Tendulkar to stop their false propaganda.”
He added, “For the last five years, BJP is trying to make India, Congress Mukta Bharat, however people of this country are not letting that happen. So BJP central leaders are frustrated and they have adopted this policy to split opposition MLAs.”
“It is a fact that BJP in Goa, cannot rule the State without spreading lies. They also cannot run party without lying. They cannot run the party on their own and look for horse-trading of MLAs,” the Congress leader charged further.
Terming that spreading lies is in BJP’s DNA, Chodankar advised Tendulkar to stop fooling people and also using money power to split MLAs. “Sometimes he says two Congress MLAs are in touch with him, next time he says four. After that he said that the BJP is not in touch with any opposition MLAs. And finally he has come up with this blatant lie that 10 Congress MLAs had offered to merge in the BJP,” Chodankar said.
The Congress leader alleged that ‘BJP was trying desperately to split its MLAs but failed and hence has come up with this cover-up story’.
In last two years, three MLAs – Vishwajit Rane, Dayanand Sopte and Subhash Shirodkar – elected on Congress tickets have quit the party, joined BJP and got re-elected on the saffron party ticket.
