Does BJP need Parrikar to come back as CM? Vinay denies, CM mum!
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 03 May 2016 20:24 IST
What is defence minister Manohar Parrikar coming back to Goa as? The chief minister? Or simply to lead the forthcoming Assembly election?
The party organisation denies that he would come back as the CM once again. But Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar’s reaction creates a doubt.
When journalists asked Parsekar for his reaction, he instantly reacted: “I welcome his decision to come back to Goa.”
But when journalists quizzed him further asking whether the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party needs Parrikar in Goa, he was hesitant to reply.
“Neither I say yes, nor do I say no. It’s dangerous to say either’, he quipped.
It is obvious that Parsekar has to vacate the seat to accommodate his predecessor if Parrikar plans to take over the reins of Goa.
On the other hand, Parsekar has already announced that he would lead the forthcoming election, obviously as the chief minister.
Vinay Tendulkar, the state BJP president, on the other hand has denied the news that Parrikar would come back as the chief minister of Goa.
“There is a strong possibility that he might lead the election campaign for 2017 polls in Goa. He is required to counter the agenda put forth by Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM) on Medium of Instruction (MoI) issue," Tendulkar told PTI.
According to him, Parrikar will have to face a by-election within six months if he comes back as the CM while election is not less than nine months away.
Though Tendulkar tries to put a stop to the speculations, Parrikar himself has said the decision of his coming back would come true not immediately, but in the next three months, which gives him six months to face the fresh Assembly poll.
After ruling Goa for 30 months since March 2012, Parrikar had stepped down to take over as country’s defence minister 18 months ago.
The ruling BJP however is in a quandary since Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, its parent organisation, has vowed to defeat its party organisation in the next election, on the issue of MoI.
Parrikar, while speaking at a public function in Bicholim recently, admitted that it is difficult to deal with your own people rather than fighting the enemy.
The RSS has however made the BJP its enemy since it has supported the Church-run English primary schools in continuing government grants to them, started by the BJP’s political enemy – the Congress.
