TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: In one of the sharpest attacks on Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, BJP’s maverick legislator Vishnu Surya Wagh has slammed Parrikar for using him and now allegedly instructing party MLAs to distance themselves from him.
For the first time in over a year, Wagh took to Facebook and posted saying, “Our great leader and honorable Defence Minister of the country has instructed all BJP ministers and MLAs to ‘disconnect’ themselves from Vishnu Surya Wagh.”
He sarcastically thanked Parrikar pointing out that he “used me to give speeches, write and compose songs, prepare campaign material and help in his resurrection as Goas (Goa’s) CM. Well, he has moved still upward and it is quite natural… Kaam jaalem, voiz mello (the job’s done, the doctor’s dead)!”
While some liked the statement, others criticized him and questioned his loyalty to the party. In four hours, he had received more than 76 ‘likes’, but many took a dig at the St Andre MLA. “Look at ur (your) posts of last one year in FB. Even u (you) ridiculed modiji rally in goa (Goa). U (you) tried for cong (congress) ticket in last Lok Sabha election. So any sane leader won’t trust u (you),” Dinesh Narayan Shetty commented.
Another Facebook follower Nehal Shirgaonkar said only puppets have a place in the BJP and that he was ‘doing too much’ by not following their orders. “I guess there is no criminal file of u (you) with him, so ur (your) posting it on FB openly,” she further said.
A few others supported his claim and even suggested that he join the Aam Aadmi Party.
Owing to his alleged anti-party remarks on earlier occasions, Wagh was stripped of the posts of Chairman of Kala Academy and Vice-Chairman of the Entertainment Society of Goa in February 2014.
This had come after months of him criticizing the Parrikar government on a host of issues ranging from police inaction after he was assaulted on December 19, 2013, to the government’s medium of instruction policy and other issues. He had also challenged the party to either take action or to expel him.
Speaking to Herald, Wagh confirmed uploading the post and said that he had not even been invited for the BJP Chintan Bhaitak.
