Will agitate till chief minister Manohar Parrikar steps down, vow activists

PANAJI: Nearly 200 citizens, including activists and members of some political parties, showed up on Saturday to express their opposition to the current political situation in the state.

Condemning chief minister Manohar Parrikar for ‘selfishly clinging’ to his post despite his ailing health, the protesters vowed to intensify their agitation till he either stepped down or handed over his responsibilities to another minister.

Several of those present pleaded with RTI activist Rajan Ghate to break his hunger strike. However, the latter refused and instead, urged Goan youth to join in his protest effort.

Denouncing Goa governor Mridula Sinha for being a “mere political spectator” to the breakdown in the administration and having failed in her Constitutional obligation to restore governance in the state, the protesters also resolved to demonstrate at all public functions presided over by her as well as any union minister.

Led by social activist Aires Rodrigues, the protesters also announced that they would hold flash demonstrations outside Parrikar’s residence. “We will also hold agitations in all 12 talukas,” Rodrigues added.

While party workers from the Congress party and the Nationalist Congress Party participated in the public gathering, senior leaders and MLAs from either party were absent. Even Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar and opposition leader Chandrakant Kavlekar skipped the meeting which was meant to send a strong signal to the state government.

“All of us were upset, but Rajan Ghate showed courage to protest against the current government. He is Goa’s conscious keeper,” thinker and writer Datta Damodar Naik said.