TEAM HERALD
DELHI/VASCO/PANJIM: The scuffle at Goa Niwas restaurant in the posh Chanakyapuri area in which the BJP’s Tivim MLA Kiran Kandolkar allegedly hit his fellow party MLA from Sanguem, Subash Phaldessai has led to the Congress and the NCP to call for taking suo moto cognizance of the offence and filing of an FIR against the BJP MLA.
The Congress also warned that the restaurant was under CCTV surveillance and in case the footage was tampered, it would be amounting to destruction of evidence.
Amidst the allegations, speculations and denials about the “slip” by BJP MLA Subash Phaldessai that led him to be taken to a hospital in the national capital where BJP is having its national convention, the MLA accompanied by the Goa chief minister flew into the State. The MLA was wearing a monkey cap.
The allegations that a scuffle took place in the restaurant of Goa Niwas in the posh Chanakyapuri area, were made by both opposition parties – the Congress and the NCP –and photos of a bloody shirt was even circulated that was purportedly worn by Phaldessai at the time of the alleged assault. They alleged that the assault was by none other than a fellow BJP MLA (or maybe one of his people); the same MLA who is in the dock for another alleged assault on another BJP MLA Vishnu Wagh some time back – the Tivim MLA, Kiran Kandolkar.
When the two arrived in the State a scar was noticed near Phaldessai’s left eye, and he was wearing a monkey cap. But before anybody could question him on his injury, Phaldessai was quickly whisked away in a car and the vehicle sped away.
The Congress says it will meet the home minister on Monday and tell him that a suo moto investigation into the “murderous assault” be taken up.
BJP MLA Subhash Phaldesai from Goa, who reportedly got stitches on his scalp after being hit by a glass flung at his head, denied that anything happened, calling it a figment of the imagination and something the Congress and the NCP cooked up to malign the BJPs image.
Unfazed by allegations that two of his MLAs were involved in a scuffle in Delhi, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar bluntly told media not to get excited especially when the MLA concerned had not made any such complaint in the matter.
“When the person concerned (Phaldessai) has not complained about anything, I do not know why the media should get excited about the incident,” Parrikar said, when asked to comment on the alleged assault.
“I don’t know why the Congress is making such a joke out of the situation, especially when the person concerned does not have any problem,” Parrikar said, hitting out at the Congress for raking up the issue.
