Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has hit back at the Goa Forward Party (GFP) for labelling Goa Legislative Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar a “puppet” of the ruling government, calling the remark disrespectful to a constitutional position.
The GFP had questioned the Speaker’s neutrality after he was seen at a BJP legislature wing meeting held earlier this week to prepare for the upcoming monsoon session.
At a press briefing, Minister Subhash Phaldessai strongly criticized the GFP’s comments, stating that such remarks undermine the dignity of the Speaker’s office. “Even if the opposition has issues with the individual, they should respect the constitutional role he occupies,” Phaldessai asserted.
He further clarified that Tawadkar did not participate in the BJP’s strategic discussions and only arrived after the meeting had ended. Phaldessai insisted that the Speaker has consistently maintained fairness and provided equal—if not greater—opportunities for opposition voices in the Assembly. “The opposition has often been given more time to speak than members of the ruling party,” he said.
Phaldessai also took aim at GFP leader and MLA Vijai Sardesai, accusing him of misleading the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community over the recent UTTA directive. He explained that the decision to bar Prakash Velip from functioning under the UTTA was a legal move by the appropriate authority, and not an act of government interference.
The BJP reiterated its commitment to upholding constitutional norms and accused the GFP of attempting to politicize non-issues for electoral mileage.
