Parrikar aides express discontent over induction of Congress leaders

A day after 10 Congress MLAs joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the old guard in the ruling party and those considered close to former chief minister Manohar Parrikar expressed unhappiness with the manner in which the party had been “Congressized”.

“Whatever has happened is not correct. This is not according to the principles and culture of the party we have set up. We will see what can be done to rectify it. I will take it up with the party president,” Rajendra Arlekar, a former environment minister in the previous Parrikar-led government as well as Goa assembly speaker, said.

Earlier too, Arlekar had spoken of his disenchantment with the party that he helped set up in Goa during the 80s and 90s along with Parrikar, former chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar and current Union minister of state and North Goa MP, Shripad Naik.

Not just the “old guard” in the Goa BJP, Utpal Parrikar, son of former CM Parrikar who died in March this year, too said the direction the party had taken was not what his father had envisioned. “The path of trust which he established in his politics ended on March 17,” Utpal said.

“Goa BJP gained MLAs. Lost trust. Of countless karyakartas like me. But we will continue to fight for a better Goa, even if it means fighting against our own party,” Giriraj Pai Vernekar, an aide of Parrikar, said.

A minister in the BJP-led Goa government claimed they were kept in the dark on the developments, with power minister Nilesh Cabral questioning the need to strengthen an already stable government.

“I’m not aware of the situation. If you ask me, I don’t know the reasons why they had to do it. One reason could be because, now with them coming, we have a majority by ourselves. We have got a clear mandate of BJP by itself, but the government was already stable,” Cabral said.

Sawant said it was the Congress MLAs who had expressed their willingness to join the BJP.