Supporters, workers vow to stand by MLA

Supporters, workers vow to stand by MLA
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, JUNE 10
Even as the Sessions Court denied him the anticipatory bail on Thursday noon, supporters and workers of the former Tourism Minister, Mickky Pacheco expressed their solidarity with the beleaguered Benaulim MLA this evening and warned the government that they will not sit and watch any further harassment meted out to their leader.
A large number of Pacheco’s supporters, who assembled behind his residence at Betalbatim, cautioned that they will not rest even if a finger is touched to the former Minister and demanded that the Nadia Torrado death case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigations for an impartial probe to unearth the true facts concerning the case.
They came down heavily on woman activist Auda Viegas, asserting that Viegas should first clean up her house before making entry into the houses of others.
The supporters came up with banners such as “Is the Congress afraid of Mickky Pacheco. Why is Mickky singled out for police harassment”. “Stop harassing our MLA Mickky Pacheco”, “Who filed the complaint against our MLA”.
Clarifying that Pacheco’s supporters had just got together to express their solidarity with the MLA, former Orlim Sarpanch Godfrey Rodrigues said they have come together to show their solidarity with the former Tourism Minister and to convey a message to the government that they will not keep quite if Pacheco’s harassment continues. “Even if one finger is touched to Pacheco during interrogations, we will come out and take care of the people and seek justice”, he warned.
Godfrey was highly critical of Bailancho Ekvott President Auda Viegas, saying she has no moral right to speak about others. He said Goan woman are not with her and her group, adding that she is being backed by the politicians in the present case.
Noted tiatrist Roseferns said that Pacheco is being unnecessarily targeted by the Congress government in the Nadia death case and wondered why the government is dragging its feet to probe into the role of a politician’s son in the drug case. “Why has the Goa police not yet interrogated Lucky Farmhouse on the drugs scam till date. So many issues have rocked Goa in recent times, but the government is silent”, he added.
A shack owner said Mickky Pacheco has been instrumental in helping out the shack owner and attributed the government’s tirade against him after he shocked the Congress in the recent ZP polls. “The Congress is shocked because he won in Nuvem and Loutolim and were worried that he would finish them in entire Goa”, he said and demanded to know the presence of Auda when Goa witnessed so many rapes and murders in recent times.
An OBC woman said she had once approached Auda when her daughter had consumed poison, but was not helped by the women activist.
Another supporter said that the policemen accused in the drugs case were recently granted bail, but lamented that the former Minister was denied bail by the court today.
Zilla members Nelly Rodrigues and Wilfred De Sa and sarpanchas and panchas were amongst the  supporters present for the meet.