Mantris did no wrong in attending 'Dabolim only' meet: BJPTNN | May 17, 2013, 05.03 AM IST5comments0inShareShare MoreAA
MARGAO: With the Lok Sabha elections less than a year away, the clamour for "Dabolim only" that found a boisterous echo at the public meeting atLohia maidan on Wednesday has made political pundits sit up and take notice. What's significant is that two ministers in the BJP-led government-fisheries and labour minister Avertano Furtado, and forests and environment minister Alina Saldanha-extended their support to the agitation by attending the meeting. The situation has thrown up a rather intriguing puzzle: While chief minister Manohar Parrikarhas assured the assembly that Dabolim airport will stay even as the government will go ahead with the Mopa airport, does the presence of the two cabinet ministers indicate disagreement within the cabinet over the issue? "Absolutely not," says BJP spokesperson and law commissioner Narendra Sawaikar. "The agitation is for 'Dabolim only' and the chief minister has maintained that Dabolim will stay. So there is no contradiction of any sort. The two ministers have attended the public meeting, and that's all. Nothing much can be read beyond that. There's nothing wrong in the ministers attending the public meeting. Anybody can attend public meetings to listen to the speakers' views. And that's what the two ministers have done. Whatever has been expressed by the people in the meeting will be conveyed to the government," Sawaikar said. Independent political commentator and legal expert Prabhakar Timble concurred with Sawaikar's views. "Attending an anti-Mopa public meeting by the two ministers cannot be construed as their declaration of support to the movement, unless they have voiced their (anti-Mopa) views. Since they have not made any statement at the meeting, except that the views of the public will be conveyed to the chief minister, one cannot assume that they have declared their support to the anti-Mopa agitation. Besides, neither of them have communicated their dissent to the government's decision of going ahead with Mopa ," Timble said. BJP state president Vinay Tendulkar affirmed that Saldanha had sought permission from the party before attending the public meeting in Margao. "The forest minister had told us that she would attend the meeting and sit in the audience," Tendulkar told TOI. He also refuted the suggestion that the presence of the two ministers has highlighted a division among the government over the Mopa issue. "There is no division nor would it send any wrong signal as even Avertano had intimated to the chief minister about attending the meeting," Tendulkar said, when pointedly asked if the presence of the two ministers at the meeting have brought differences on the Dabolim-Mopa issue in the government in the spotlight. He further said the government's decision has been very clear that it wants both airports for Goa. BJP will have a discussion on the issue with Parrikar shortly. "Our senior office bearers are out of the state. When they return we will discuss issue with the chief minister," Tendulkar said. Political observers are of the view that the two ministers may have chosen to be present at the meeting "only to play safe" and "reassure" their voters. Timble had a rather interesting take. He said, "By staying on both sides of the issue, they can well navigate the movement so as not to jeopardize the interests of the BJP." Saldanha and Furtado declined to be engaged into any debate. While Furtado graciously stated that he was "with his people" over the issue, Saldanha declined to comment. Furtado is the independent MLA from Navelim while Saldanha is a BJP legislator. Independent MLA Vijai Sardesai, who also attended the meeting, said the ministers should not engage in double speak by enjoying the fruits of power and at the same time, pretend to oppose the government on the issue. Nationalist Congress party (NCP) chief spokesperson Trajano D'Mello felt that the ministers who oppose Mopa have constitutional powers and responsibilities and if sincere to the call, must resign from the cabinet that has given a go-ahead for Mopa. The independent MLA should resign and withdraw support to the government and not indulge in double speak. By doing so, the ministers are only trying to fool the people, D'Mello said. D'Mello added that the issue has to be looked at in a broader perspective. "NCP reiterates its stand that it is a ploy of the BJP to divide the secular vote because Mopa has not started today but evolving over the last 10 years. Most of the people associated with the forum were those who had demanded scrapping of the Regional Plan (RP) 2021 on the eve of the last assembly". The BJP also dismissed suggestions that the Mopa issue could harm its prospects in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. Sawaikar, who was the BJP candidate the at the last Lok Sabha polls from South Goa, said, "Elections are fought on various issues. The ones that crop up at that time turn into election issues. There is a wide range of issues. Besides, any issue can be addressed at the right point of time. Lok Sabha polls are fought on national issues. (Poor) performance of the UPA government, (poor) performance of (Prime Minister) Manmohan Singh, corruption issues at the centre, are the issues that the Lok Sabha polls will be fought on," Sawaikar said .
