TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Saying that the ensuing Assembly session would be crucial in determining the future of Goemkarponn and Goan identity, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai has said that he will raise around 50 issues in the forthcoming Assembly session concerning the State and its people.
Addressing the media, Sardesai said the issues would be not only pertaining to his Fatorda constituency, but those affecting the entire State. He slammed the BJP government for its failure to address several issues, including the finalisation of the Reigonal Plan. Brushing aside speculation that he would be the only opposition member grilling the government, Sardesai explained that it is ridiculous to assume that the rest of the opposition will be silent spectators. My colleagues in the Congress and other Independent MLAs will be raising, along with me, questions about many issues that threaten to undermine the very foundations of our Goan ethos and culture. The Muthalik and Ram Sene issue is a very sensitive one and it is not restricted to just Muthalik but is representative of a much larger issue of the threat to secular and tolerant Goa as we know it, he said.
The Fatorda MLA welcomed the decision of the government to declare July 29 as a holiday for the Assembly this time, as the Muslim brethren celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr on that day. He hoped that the Speaker extends the spirit to the working of the Assembly and allows healthy and substantial discussions and debates on the various issues that will come up.
Amongst the issues, Sardesai said he has tabled a resolution for the government to introduce a scheme to provide grants to Goan village clubs, popularly known as Kudds in Mumbai and elsewhere, which have over the years served the Goan community and which now face extinction.
