Goa BJP unit rebukes party MLA Michael Lobo for criticising state government in public
The BJP MLA and deputy speaker, however, claimed that his public statements were not political but about the ‘problems of the people’.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Goa on Saturday said its legislator Michael Lobo should not have made a public statement about his displeasure with the state government’s policy decisions, PTI reported.
On Friday, Lobo, who is also the deputy Speaker, told reporters that the Manohar Parrikar-led government had failed to live up to its promises of providing employment to the people. Lobo said he had written a letter to the chief minister highlighting his concerns.
BJP General Secretary Sadanand Tanavade told reporters that Lobo should have approached the party with his concerns. “Lobo should not have gone public with such a statement against the party,” Tanavade said. “If he feels that he is facing any injustice from us, he should have spoken to us.”
Meanwhile, Lobo told Scroll.in that his statement to the media was only about the problems people were facing. “There is no politics in this [public statement against government],” Lobo said. “Several others ministers, MLAs and I have drawn the government’s attention to the problems of unemployment before. Nobody cares about the BJP, Congress or any other party. They [people] are hungry and they want jobs. The issue of mining is yet to be addressed. Whoever thinks my statements are against the government or party, let them continue to think that way.”
Parrikar, who has been suffering from a pancreatic ailment since February, was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi on September 15. A week later, Bharatiya Janata Party National President Amit Shah said that Parrikar will continue to be chief minister of Goa.
Goa’s mining problem
In February, the Supreme Court quashed the second renewal of mining leases given to 88 companies in the state in 2015. The judgement has had an impact on the state’s iron ore export industry.
Mining workers and others dependent on the industry staged a day-long hunger strike in Goa’s capital Panaji on Friday demanding that iron ore extraction activity resume in the state, reported PTI. Union minister of State Shripad Naik told the protestors that they were trying to push the Centre to introduce legislation to resume mining, The Times of India reported.