TELLS GSM HE DOESN’T NEED ANY LESSONS, READY TO FACE BLACK FLAGS ON JANuary 26
the goan I network
MARGAO
Rejecting Goa Suraksha Manch’s demand for an apology for his statement that Opinion Poll holds more significance than Goa’s Liberation from the Portuguese, Goa Forward Party chief and TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai said he has accepted the gauntlet
thrown by Goa Suraksha Manch leader Subhash Velingkar to waive black flags at him on January 26.
“I have the highest regard for the freedom fighters. I don’t want any lessons or tuition from GSM. My family was closely associated with Goa’s freedom struggle. No question of apologising to anyone. Let Velingkar come with black flags on January 26 at Fatorda. My father was associated with the freedom movement despite being in service and was declared as anti-national. My uncle Ravindra Kelekar was a prominent figure in the Liberation movement. Velingkar should know that I am an elected person and the people of Fatorda who have elected me are Goemkars. Let him come with black flags,” he told the media on Monday.
Coming down heavily on the GSM leader, Sardesai said Velingkar’s nationalism is adulterated, adding “that is why even the RSS had to throw him out of the organisation.”
“Right to protest is a democratic right, but one should not try to bring a communal divide. The whole intention of these people is to become sectarian and divide the people. Goa is a progressive state,” he lashed out.
Saying that he had no intention of insulting the freedom fighters by saying that the Opinion Poll is greater than Goa’s Liberation, Sardesai said, “After Goa’s Liberation, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had stated that the independence of India was complete with the Liberation of Goa. I feel that Goa’s Liberation was complete with the victory in the Opinion Poll. One should know that the historic Opinion Poll gave us identity. Liberation made us Indians, but Opinion Poll made us Goans”.
Saying he has the right to articulate his opinion and express his opinion, the TCP Minister said he need not be apologetic for what he had stated vis-à-vis Goa’s Liberation and Opinion Poll, even as he demanded to know whether Velingkar had voted for Goa’s merger or was part of the anti-merger movement during the Opinion Poll.
Saying that governments have taken time to recognize the Opinion Poll heroes, he said that constant pressure on the government will now ensure that the history of Opinion Poll is included in the history text books. “The government may have delayed recognition to the Opinion Poll heroes, but I am confident that the statue of Dr Jack Sequeira will come up across the villages in Goa.
Dr Sequeira’s statue has already come up at Calangute, Dona Paula and more recently at Merces,” he said, adding, “In Fatorda too, a statue of Dr Jack Sequeira will come up, but I don’t want to set any deadline”.
