Panaji, April 12 (IANS) Hitting out at Goa unit BJP president Sadanand Shet Tanavade, who said that the party leaders have guts to tell even the Karnataka media that the state government will not compromise on the Mhadei river issue, the Congress in Goa has dared BJP leaders to show the ‘guts’ in presence of Home Minister Amit Shah.
Recently, Tanavade said that “even if the Karnataka media questions us on the Mhadei issue, we will make the statement that the government will not compromise on this issue, we have the guts (to make a statement)”.
Reacting to this, Chairman of Congress Media Cell, Amarnath Panjikar said: “This guts should have been shown by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who campaigned in Karnataka in the second week of March. Instead of showing these guts, Sawant spoke in Kannada. He said ‘Svalpa Svalpa Kannada Mathadenea’ (I can speak little in Kannada). This he did to garner votes,”,
Panjikar said that with his statement, “it was evident that Pramod Sawant supports Karnataka on the Mhadei issue, and whatever Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said seems to be true”.
In January, during a rally in Karnataka’s Belagavi, Amit Shah had said: “Today, I am here to tell you that the BJP at the Centre has resolved the long dispute between Goa and Karnataka over Mhadei and allowed the diversion of Mhadei to Karnataka to satisfy the thirst of farmers of many districts.”
“Pramod Sawant and other leaders of BJP have now got a good opportunity to clarify this issue, when Amit Shah will speak in a public meeting in Goa on April 16. Forget about speaking in front of the media in Karnataka, let the BJP leaders make a statement in Goa, that too in front of Amit Shah that whatever their central leader said was wrong. Show your guts in Goa itself,” Panjikar said.
“Goa is eager to see your guts on the day when Amit Shah will address a public meeting in Goa, and also when the BJP leaders of Goa will campaign in Karnataka. If they fail to do so, then the people of the state will call them ‘Masters of U-Turn’,” the Congress leader said.
–IANS
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