Panaji: The contradictory stand taken by some of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs in the state on the three linear projects – doubling of South West railway route, power transmission project at Mollem and widening of National Highway – is sending a disturbing signal to the party.
Velim MLA and Water Resources Minister Filipe Nery Rodrigues, Cortalim MLA Alina Saldanha, Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida, Nuvem MLA Wilfred (Babashan) D’sa and Cuncolim MLA Clafasio Dias have publicly opposed the doubling of the South West railway route and transportation of coal.
During the discussion on private member resolution in the recently concluded state legislative assembly session, the Cortalim MLA opposed these three projects and urged the government to scrap them once and for all. The Cuncolim and Nuvem MLAs have also opposed widening of the National Highway and double-tracking of the railway route.
However, when Speaker Rajesh Patnekar called for division of votes on the resolution, BJP’s minority MLAs Rodrigues, Saldanha, Almeida, D’sa and Dias remained absent from the House.
Now, the people have started questioning these MLAs for not supporting the resolution demanding scrapping of these three controversial linear projects.
Two days back, people from Nuvem marched to the local MLA’s house and questioned him why he did not support the resolution moved by the Opposition. A similar question was posed to the Cuncolim MLA by the constituents on Tuesday.
It is pertinent to note that minister Rodrigues and MLAs Dias and D’sa were elected on Congress ticket during the 2017 assembly elections and had joined BJP in July 2019 along with seven other legislators.
On the other hand, the BJP MLAs from Mormugao taluka – Alina Saldanha and Carlos Almeida – have also taken a strong stand against these projects fearing that they will lead to more coal pollution.
It is also important to note that the candidates supported by Rodrigues in Velim and D’Sa in Nuvem have lost the recently-held Zilla Panchayat elections.
As the state legislative assembly elections are to be held in Goa next year, these MLAs are trying to gain the confidence of their constituents.
According to sources, BJP has taken this matter seriously, as their party MLAs have taken an undesirable stand on these three linear projects, which have been pushed by the state government.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has been reiterating that these three linear projects will be completed at any cost, as these are being taken up with national and state interests in mind.
With its own MLAs publicly expressing opposition to these projects, it appears that the ruling BJP has challenges within even though it has 27 MLAs in the 40-member state legislative assembly.
