Team Herald
PANJIM: Congress on Saturday claimed that Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai’s recent visit to Delhi to meet ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was to strike a deal for personal political gain.
Addressing media persons, Congress spokesperson Amarnath Panjikar said that Sardesai’s visit to Delhi was to offer a barter system, wherein he has proposed to drop WRD Minister and GFP MLA Vinod Palyekar from the cabinet in return for major portfolios handled by the Chief Minister.
“The visit to Delhi was nothing to do with formalin-fish issue or to demand for ban on import of fish. But the visit was for his personal political gain. He wants to have hold over major portfolios of Chief Minister, who is currently undergoing treatment at AIIMS,” Panjikar alleged.
“Apparently, he has offered to drop Palyekar from the cabinet by replacing him with a BJP MLA,” the Congress leader said, hinting at the possible induction of Calangute MLA Michael Lobo.
Panjikar said that if that is not the move then why did Sardesai say that Lobo will be inducted in the cabinet in the current term? “Is there any vacancy in the cabinet? We don’t think so,” he stated.
Palyekar responded sharply to the allegation. He said that Panjikar or Congress don’t have to educate him about his leader Sardesai. “Vijai is not like Congress leaders of Goa who not only sell party tickets but also sell their loyalists for selfish gain,” he said in a statement.
The Minister said that while going for an alliance, Sardesai had fought for inclusion of him and Jayesh Salgaonkar in the cabinet with BJP national leader Nitin Gadkari and Parrikar, while even stating that he is ready to be out of cabinet but the Bhandari samaj has to be represented.
The Minister advised Panjikar to desist from the practice of trying to fish in troubled waters as all is well in the ruling coalition and that the Parrikar-led government is safe and stable.
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These are kids trying to fish in troubled waters: Vijai
GFP president Vijai Sardesai took a pot shot at Congress claiming that it has outsourced its operation to destabilise the government to kids (spokespersons). “With their senior leaders being busy elsewhere, these kids, whom the operation is outsourced to destabilise the government, exposes Congress’s intellectual level. The Congress State unit through its cheap tactics stands exposed,” Sardesai, who is the TCP Minister, said when contacted. He said that the Congress spokespersons are kids who are trying to fish in troubled waters. “Through its cheap act, Congress in Goa is showing what it actually wants,” he said adding, On the one hand they are alleging that we are sacrificing a Bahujan Samaj minister for Michael Lobo and on the other hand they are feel bad for Lobo too.”
