Team Herald
PANJIM: A day after BJP State president and Rajya Sabha MP Sadanand Shet Tanavade lashed out at him, Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira played down the remarks, saying that he had not heard anything “from the horse’s mouth”. He, however, stressed that he had joined BJP after a lot of thought and that he belonged to the party.
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Speaking to O Heraldo, Sequeira said, “I have seen many times that the press tends to interpret things their way or twist matters to create a sensation.” Tanavade had spoken to a section of the media on Monday, reportedly saying that Sequeira must “introspect” and it needed to be seen if he fit “into the party system” of BJP.
Tanavade was reportedly unhappy that the party’s enrolment drive in Nuvem, the constituency that Sequeira represents, had been underwhelming. Acknowledging this, the Minister said that there were definite reasons why he had not been able to focus on constituting the Nuvem BJP Mandal Committee and give time to other party-related issues – this was because Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had entrusted him with two tasks that took up around four months.
“The first challenge I had to handle was the outbreak of cholera at Cutbona Jetty and it was my responsibility to ensure that other issues related to the jetty were resolved. I managed to succeed with the support of the Fisheries Federation, which will give me credit for what I have done. Thereafter, I was appointed deputy chairman of the Exposition Secretariat Committee. This also took up a lot of time, as I felt it was the responsibility of the government-appointed committee to deliver what was committed to the church authorities, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and other agencies to ensure the Exposition passed off smoothly,” he said.
Sequeira chaired a review meeting on Tuesday morning to clean up the area and “we will get out of there (Old Goa) in the next four-five days”. He added that he had not spoken to Tanavade, who was travelling. “I only know that I have joined the BJP after thinking it over, and did not just run across. I belong to the BJP,” said Sequeira.
