Siddhu, Rudy kickstart BJP campign for June 2 Goa polls

Panaji, May 17 (UNI) The BJP today kickstarted its campaign for the June 2 elections to the Goa Legislative Assembly, with the party's national leaders Navjyot Singh Siddhu and Rajiv Pratap Rudy who called for ''bowling out the corrupt and unstable Congress government that was selling out the beautiful state with impunity.'' ''Keep your self-respect by clean bowling the corrupt government by exercising your franchise to elect a clean and stable government with leaders of high stature. Don't fall prey to the tall and false promises of the corrupt and greedy politicians,'' Mr Siddhu said.

The Pratapinh Rane government, he said, has failed to win over the confidence of the people, leave them alone providing them with 'roti, kapada aur makan', with loot on,'' the former cricketer said.

''How do you expect Mr Rane to save Goa when he cannot control his own son Viswajit Rane, who had quit Congress to contest as an independent?'' he asked the audience at Mala under Panaji constituency, which witnesses a straight fight with the Congress.

''Throw away this corrupt regime lock, stock and barrel to save Goa from being swallowed of its very roots of the culture by the corrupt politicians who are empowering the rich and pauperising the poor through scams,'' he said.

Mr Sidhu, through his interactive and oratorial skills, enthralled the audience using the cricket language in between while rediculing the Congress party at both the Centre and the State. He even narrated some anectodes, proverbs and short stories.

On the other hand, Mr Rudy described the Congress government in Goa as a ''great circus with musical chairs,'' with internecine squabbles and instability as corruption was on rise and unchecked.

Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar, projected as the chief ministerial candidate, sought cooperation of the electorate to form a government with absolute majority, with no scope for instability.

The state BJP president Shripad Naik and others also spoke.

UNI