PANJIM: The Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat has refuted the allegations made by the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders charging the Congress-led government and leaders in the state of having “forcefully” taking away the dissident BJP legislators from Karnataka from a resort in South Goa.
The Chief Minister told this daily that since none of the Congress leaders went to meet the dissident BJP MLAs camping in the state since Friday, it proved that the Congress had nothing to do with the on-going political drama in the neighbouring state. “We have not interfered in the internal matter of the BJP in Karnataka,” he said.
He further said that it was only the BJP leaders who have been meeting the dissidents over the last three days and that should tell the people what negotiations they were carrying out with their “erstwhile” colleagues and about their demands rather than blaming the Congress leaders in the state for the mess in the “party with a difference.”
Mr Kamat categorically denied the involvement of any of the Congress leaders in the state or any directions from the party high command to provide any facility to the dissident MLAs. The Chief Minister said that till Saturday neither he nor any other state Congress leader has received any intimation from the party’s central leadership to play any role in the matter and as such the charges by the BJP were baseless.
He said that police protection was provided to Karnataka dissidents following a written request to the effect, as they had written to the South Goa Superintendent of Police stating that they feared for their life and in view of this the police provided them the safety cover.
The Home Minister, Mr Ravi Naik has said that the police escorted the dissident MLAs to the airport after they requested for police cover. He denied that any of the MLA was forcefully taken away from the hotel. The MLAs were at the airport till late in the evening and were expecting to board a flight to return home.
He said that the police were on Saturday told that the dissident MLAs from Karnataka wanted to return to Bangalore and requested the police to escort them to the airport and that the police only performed its duty in giving protection to the elected representatives of the people, some of whom were former ministers.
Mr Naik also said that it was only the BJP leaders who were meeting the dissidents over and again and since none of the Congress leaders went to meet them over the last two days it indicated that Congress had nothing to do with the happenings in Karnataka politics.
Reacting to the charges, the special spokesperson for the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee, Mr Ramakant Khalap said that BJP should now stop its drama over the dissident activities by its MLAs and face the fact that its façade of a party with a difference was lost long before it was conceived.
He further said that the BJP never believed in principled politics but had touted principles and fair play in politics as a ploy to hide its casteist, fundamentalist and Manuwadi politics, which have driven wedge in the age old unity, equality and brotherhood among the people of different faiths in India. The events in Bangalore were a natural reaction to the policies of the BJP, he added.
He further said that Congress denied categorically the allegations that it had kidnapped or enticed the dissident BJP MLAs or in any manner fomented any dissidence in the ranks of BJP. He also said that the outbursts by BJP leaders were expression of frustration of failing to keep their own folks together. (NT)
Why don't these guys take swords and fight each other? Non-Goans in government contholled Shanty towns have many swords.
ReplyDelete