Shantaram Naik, Goa Congress MP and secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), has accused Manohar Parrikar, who stepped down as Defence Minister, of “murdering democracy and violating the provisions of the Constitution”.
In a statement released here on Monday Mr. Naik said, “He has played a treacherous game to install himself as the Chief Minister of Goa.” He said, “The people of Goa had given a mandate to the Congress. It was the single largest party after the elections. Obviously, Goa Governor Mridula Sinha should have invited the Congress to form the government.”
Mr. Naik further said that the move has displayed the BJP’s true colours of being a fascist party with an ideology very close to that of North Korea. Mr. Naik said Mr. Parrikar was a failure as Defence Minister and the Ministry was virtually run by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. He said Mr. Parrikar has been packed off to Goa on a “mischief mission”.
He said the BJP has lost its credibility and the party’s workers must be embarrassed at the manner in which it has staked claim to form the government in Goa despite finishing second behind the Congress, bagging merely 13 seats against 17 of the Congress.
Confusing result: AAP
Elvis Gomes, State convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), said on Monday that the Election Commission of India should henceforth just “auction” every seat to the highest bidder instead of conducting an election. In his first press briefing after the Assembly election, in which his party failed to win a single seat, Mr. Gomes said the AAP was confused about the expectations of the State’s electorate.
He said news reports suggesting AAP’s Goa unit was folding up following the defeat were false and the State unit would continue to work in Goa by following the party’s methods and philosophy.
Mr. Gomes said, “Money plays a big role in deciding who is elected, primarily because the Election Commission machinery fails. Sometimes I wonder why we should go through this election. It would be better if the Election Commission conducts an auction of the seats. Let the highest bidder win it, rather than go through this whole process of conducting rallies, campaigning and fighting elections.”
He said the AAP had offered a good alternative to voters by introducing new faces, giving tickets to candidates without a criminal record, and avoiding communal and caste-based formulas. “We cannot understand what more the people want. We will try to understand them better.”
