Panaji: Minister for Town and Country Planning (TCP) Vijai Sardesai today took on Congress for their act of ‘political convenient’ on the on-going anti-PDA protest, stating that the opposition cannot take the credit for the people’s movement for scrapping PDAs, which were once chaired by the MLAs from the national party.
Sardesai also questioned the political vendetta of the Congress party demanding scrapping of Regional Plan 2021, when its own party MLAs on the floor of the House had repeatedly moved cut motions for revival or put in operation the RP21.
The Minister’s statement comes after Congress party senior leader Ramakant Khalap and General Secretary Adv Yatish Naik through a media conference stated that it was Congress party, who through its vision document, prior to 2017 election, had promised people to scrap PDAs and Regional Plan 2021 and also to bring reform in the TCP act by incorporating provisions of 73rd and 74th amendment of the Constitution.
“Congress leaders cannot take credit for the anti-PDA movement given the fact that their own former and current MLAs like Reginaldo Lourenco, Victoria Fernandes and Agnelo Fernandes, were heading the PDAs. Why the demand to scrap PDAs was not found relevant at that point of time,” Sardesai said.
“I can understand if AAP (Aam Adami party) takes the credit for the movement as they were the one who galvanized the movement. So they can take the credit,” Minister commented.
“Congress is trying to take the credit as per their political convenient. As an opposition they should act as a responsible opposition and not try to take credit for the things they were never part of,” Sardesai said adding ‘Congress leaders were also named and shamed by these anti-PDA protestors for illegal land conversions’.
