NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Stating that if Manohar Parrikar was alive today, he would have never allowed the “grossly undemocratic things” presently undertaken by the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, senior Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party leader Ramakrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar on Friday alleged that after poaching two MLAs of his party, the BJP is now coming out with various pressurising tactics to ensure that the MGP president Pandurang ‘Deepak’ Dhavalikar withdraws from the Shiroda bypoll.
“The BJP also wants the MGP to refrain from fielding its candidates for the Lok Sabha election in Goa,” Dhavalikar informed this daily, charging that the BJP is planning to intimidate the MGP leaders by sending income-tax as well as Enforcement Directorate teams soon. “Furthermore, I have been indirectly hinted by some senior officers that, my wife would soon come under the scanner of the National Investigation Agency, probably because she works for the Sanatan Saunstha,” he noted.
Maintaining that the BJP is sending very bad signals to the Goan voters through its undemocratic deeds, the senior MGP leader questioned, if the BJP felt that MGP leaders needed to be probed through I-T and ED sleuths, then why did it refrained from doing so all these years.
“We, all the Dhavalikar brothers, are paying our income-tax since 1980, with total honesty,” he informed.
Dhavalikar said that he is experiencing such revengeful, vendetta-filled acts from a ruling party, for the first time.
“In fact, I went out of the way to help the BJP form its government under Manohar Parrikar after the 2017 state assembly election,” he observed, adding that since he had given MGP’s letter of support to the BJP for formation of the government, it was the bounden duty of the BJP leaders to inform him that they are admitting MGP MLAs in the BJP.
“In fact, the statement of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant that Azgaonkar and Pauskar came to the BJP on their own, is a childish statement,” the senior MGP leader stated, questioning as to whether any political party do such a brash thing with its alliance partner.
“I wish Sawant a successful career as a Chief Minister, but what statement he has given is utterly childish and unbelievable,” he mentioned.
Dhavalikar alleged that the government has scant respect for the election code of conduct, in force in Goa due to the Lok Sabha election, and is continuously holding developmental meetings in the secretariat.
“In fact, yesterday there was a meeting of the public works department and today about mining,” he maintained, pointing out that the state office of the Election Commission of India should keep a strict watch on the ongoing activities in the secretariat.
Dhavalikar also said that long before Subhash Shirodkar made his entry into the BJP, he had met Manohar Parrikar as well as Nitin Gadkari and specifically told them that since the Priol constituency is all set to be reserved for scheduled tribe candidates, he would try out the Shiroda constituency for the MGP president Pandurang ‘Deepak’ Dhavalikar.
“And they had even agreed to it, as the particular constituency was then represented by the Congress party,” he noted.
The senior MGP leader said that during the forthcoming bypolls and Lok Sabha election in Goa, the voters from the state would appropriately respond to the backstabbing of the MGP by the BJP leaders.