Opposition demands resignation of CM Pramod Sawant over Subhash Velingkar Row and land reclassification in forest areas
PANAJI: The resignation demands of opposition parties from Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the controversial statements of Subhash Velingkar leading to a worsening political climate are snowballing for the state in reaping the outrage through the redgradation of 1.2 crore square meters of forest land.
Goa Congress Vice President Sunil Kawthankar has made a written application to the Governor, requesting him to make arrangements for an inquiry panel to investigate the communal tensions that have been riled by Velingkar's fiery comments on St. Francis Xavier. Emulating Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, Kawthankar also alleged that CM Sawant has done nothing, thereby giving a sense of disintegration into the state. "The inaction of the government has only escalated the situation, threatening the social fabric in Goa," Kawthankar noted in his letter to the Governor.
The growing frustration over environmental issues, particularly the de-notification of private forest land for mass ventures such as Bhutani, overlapped with communal tensions. Outrage against these ventures has been vociferous with people accusing Sawant of having sold the state down the river on environmental matters to collect his re-election kitty. Kawthankar presumes that the BJP leadership has triumphed at this election season in utilising the common cause of communal dispute to divert attention away from the land acquisition issues.
Subhash Velingkar, whose fiery remarks have outraged people not only in Goa but the Goan diaspora overseas too, was not granted bail by the court recently. Protest demanding his arrest has been reported in cities like London and New York and all over Goa. At last, the opposition has united in the call for swift legal action against Velingkar. TMC, AAP, and Congress leaders have all condemned Velingkar's statements as incitement to religious hatred.
AAP Chief Amit Palekar has gone on to further indict CM Sawant for ignoring the debate that broke out after statements by BJP Goa PCB unit vice president Subhash Velingkar about reservations in educational institutions. "Sawant's inaction against Velingkar proves that the BJP is one with divisive talks, which doesn't seem to bother them," Palekar charged. Former environment minister Alina Saldanha also joined the bandwagon of voices in opposition to Sawant, accusing him of throwing the state into communal violence by favouring controversial land deals instead of protecting communal amity in the state.
