‘Issues raised in House forced early end to session’
NT Reporter
Panaji
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) vice-president Sunil Kawthankar on Tuesday claimed that the government illegally curtailed the Assembly session as the Opposition would have exposed its wrongdoings and failures.
“Congress MLAs raised various issues of public interest and public welfare, and many other matters were to be taken up during the Assembly session,” Kawthankar said, adding that, sensing it
would be exposed for its wrongdoings and failures, the government curtailed the session and deprived the people of Goa of the benefits they would have received had it continued.
Tulio D’Souza, GPCC vice-president, was also present at the press briefing at Congress House on Tuesday.
“Our MLAs raised various issues through Legislative Assembly Questions, Zero Hour and Calling Attention motions, and they put the government on the complete back foot,” Kawthankar said.
He added that various bills and matters were to be introduced and discussed, including the most important issue of scrapping Section 39A of the TCP Act pertaining to land conversions.
Alleging that the BJP government used the Code of Conduct as a pretext to curtail the Assembly session, Kawthankar said, “If that were the case, then Assembly sessions would also have been curtailed in Maharashtra and Karnataka. In Maharashtra, the BJP is in power, while Congress is in power in Karnataka,” he said.
RGP to meet Guv, seek special session of Assembly
NT Reporter
Panaji
Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) will meet the Governor Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju seeking to summon a special Legislative Assembly after the Assembly was adjourned sine die over the Model Code of Conduct on Monday, its St Andre MLA Viresh Borkar said. He said that the party will also write to the Election Commission of India to ascertain whether any instructions were given to the Goa government regarding the curtailment of the Assembly session.
“The Speaker did not listen to the Opposition. I, including five other MLAs, were marshalled out. The Speaker was pressurised and the Budget was passed. There are various Bills that I have introduced, including the main issue of scrapping Section 39 A of the TCP. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had assured a discussion on this subject (Section 39 A of TCP) but nothing has been done. Government is least bothered to protect the ecology,” Borkar said during a press briefing at the RGP head office in Panaji.
He said other states did not curtail the Assembly session.
In an appeal to Goans, Borkar said the time has come to unite and save Goa for the future generations and added that RGP will restart the movement to protect Goa.
“Our MLA had moved six Bills, out of which four were related to land. What was the fear for curtailing the Assembly? This is murder of democracy. We can’t expect anything good from BJP as they are known for that. This is BJP’s last term,” said RGP president Manoj Parab.
“Those who call them seasoned politicians, they need to study and should have cross-checked in other states where there are by-polls. In those states, the Assembly is in session but not in Goa,” Parab added.
