Churchil's SGF to contest 35 assembly seats

Panaji, May 10 (UNI) Congress rebel Churchil Alemao, who has just quit Parliament and the party to head the ''Save Goa Front (SGF)'', had said the regional outfit would on its own contest 35 assembly seats in the June 2 elections.

Mr Churchil released the party's manifesto, which had opposed SEZs, Express Highway, Mopa International Airport and the International Film Festival of India. The SGF, however, was in favour of 12 per cent reservation to STs and also favoured improving the Dabolim airport.

Talking to reporters, Mr Churchil exuded confidence that the SGF would form government in Goa. He said there was no question of the SGF supporting any other party in the elections, including the UGDF to which he originally belonged.

''There is no difference between the Congress and the BJP. Both are communal and anti-people,'' he said.

To a query, however, Mr Churchil said if his party failed to secure a majority, it wiuld not hesitate to lend support to either the BJP or the Congress, whichever party upholded the SGF demands.

But he ruled out SGF's support to any party that joined hands with former Town and Country Planning Minister Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate who had been ''responsible for defacing Goa through the controversial regional plan-2011 that was finally scrapped''.

He announced he would contest the Navelim assembly seat against Industries and Education Minister Luizinho Faleiro who ''was striving to start SEZs and destroy Goa''.

''The SGF is for providing clean and efficient government. We are for environmental protection and an economically progressive, secure and safe Goa,'' he added.

Earlier, the SGF founder president Siddhant Buyo, who handed over the charge to Churchil, said the latter had been elected as the new president as he was an ''undisputed leader of the masses in Goa''.

UNI