Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Aam Aadmi Party Goa State President, Adv Amit Palekar, vehemently criticised the BJP government for the controversial Investment Promotion Bill (IPB), which he claims will devastate the livelihood opportunities of Goans and the environment of Goa. Speaking at the AAP office in Panaji, Palekar accused the Sawant-led government of functioning like a real estate agency.
Palekar asserted, “The controversial IPB bill is nothing short of a Special Economic Zone drafted by the real estate lobby. This bill grants draconian powers to the Chief Minister and his colleagues. The bill proposes a board chaired by the CM, which would have supreme authority and certain proposed amendments would take away powers of local bodies as well as the GIDC, the town and country planning department, and other departments.”
Under the guise of this board, the government aims to set its own rules, selling Goa to outsiders, he warned, accusing the CM and Minister Mauvin Godinho of acting as chief real estate agents.
Palekar emphasised that the recent monsoon assembly session was historic, with a record number of bills not benefitting Goans withdrawn following robust opposition from AAP and other opposition leaders. “In this assembly session, seven opposition leaders effectively outweighed the 33 ruling legislators, making it seem as though the roles were reversed. Our AAP MLAs, in particular, performed exceptionally well, prompting Goans to consider the impact AAP could have if it were in power. The response from the public has been overwhelmingly positive,” he added.
AAP Working President, Valmiki Naik, welcomed the fact that this monsoon session was held without any curtailment or distractions.
Naik said, “This is the first time since CM Sawant took oath as CM, that the assembly session has happened for the entire announced length without curtailment. Otherwise, we witnessed how the BJP Govt would curtail the session on some pretext or another or would concoct some controversy to derail the proceedings. Because of the long duration, our leaders could address a lot of issues concerning Goans and could take assurances from the government. The assembly is a major feature of democracy and this time it happened properly.”
Naik further stated, “People like us who are common people are an important part of democracy. That’s why AAP always wanted to eradicate the VIP culture in governance and give access to common people in this democratic process. Therefore, during the first assembly session after AAP leaders were sworn in as MLAs, we asked people to send their questions, and we presented those issues in the assembly house. This time we not only sourced questions from common people, but we also made sure that common people could get a chance to witness these assembly sessions in person. We facilitated the issuance of hundreds of passes so that people across age groups could watch the session in person, and we received an overwhelming response.”
Naik condemned the CM’s constant personal attacks on the Delhi AAP government and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. “Our AAP MLAs exposed the Sawant government’s failures, to which the CM had no answers. Instead, he resorted to taking personal digs at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. This shows how threatened the Sawant government is by AAP’s effective leadership,” stated Naik. He also pointed out that CM Sawant, despite being a former speaker, has forgotten the assembly’s basic rules and responsibilities of not casting aspersions on someone who is not a member of the House, indicating the government’s fear of AAP’s growing influence in Goa and India.
AAP Working President, Gerson Gomes, highlighted various issues raised by AAP leaders in the assembly. “Our AAP MLAs are the true voice of Goans. They exposed the inefficiencies of the South Goa District Hospital, the plight of fisherfolk at Cutbona jetty, and the government’s inaction on denationalising Goa’s six main rivers,” said Gomes. He also criticised the Home Department for its failure to enforce police transfers, maintain discipline, secure borders
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