MARGAO: Leader of Opposition Pratapsing Rane’s open support to the proposed airport at Mopa triggered protests and condemnation from MLAs down South, even as the Fr Eremito Rebello-led Goans for Dabolim Only (GFDO) has called for an urgent meeting to take stock of the situation.
Congress Legislature Party spokesman Reginaldo Lourenco was categorical in saying that the CLP has not taken any decision to support the proposed airport at Mopa, while Independent MLA Vijai Sardesai condemned Rane’s statement, saying it only exposes the contradictions in the Congress on the airport issue.
‘What Pratapsing Rane said is his personal opinion and not the opinion of the CLP. We had earlier decided to go to the party to reconsider its stand on the airport”, Reginaldo said, while reminding that the CLP had earlier taken a clear stand that Mopa can wait for 100 years.
Asserting that he fully stands by his commitment to back only Dabolim as Goa’s lone airport, the Curtorim MLA said that Chief Minister, Manohar Parrikar’s announcement on Request for Qualification (RFQ) is nothing but a gimmick aimed at cheating the Goan public. “Parrikar talks about employment the new airport will generate, but doubts are raised about all these claims”, he said.
The Independent legislator from Fatorda, Vijai Sardesai has condemned Rane’s open support for Mopa saying the stand only betrays the 1.60 lakh electorate from South Goa, who had stood behind the Congress in the Lok Sabha poll. “Rane’s view only exposes the contradiction as the Congress had earlier said that Mopa would not come up for 100 years. With due respect to the Leader of the Opposition, I fail to understand how Rane has made the statement and whether he was forced to make such a damaging statement”, Vijai said.
On Parrikar’s claim that the BJP had won the South Goa seat despite espousing the cause of Mopa, Vijai reminded that BJP candidate and now MP Narendra Sawaikar had been noncommittal on Mopa throughout the election campaign. “The BJP had earlier claimed that Modi’s charisma had won them the South Goa seat”, he added.
Meanwhile, the Goans for Dabolim Only convenor Fr Eremito Rebello is believed to have called up a number of Congress functionaries to ascertain whether the party toes the line of the Leader of the Opposition. In fact, Fr Rebello has called for an urgent meeting of the GFDO to take stock of the situation and chalk out future course of action.
