Goa: Alemao accuses Congress of double speak

Panaji, May 30: Former Goa chief minister Churchill Alemao, who recently quit the Congress to form a separate party, the Save Goa Front (SGF), today accused his former party of double speak on the issue of protecting the interests of the Goans.

Addressing a news conference here, Mr Alemao ridiculed UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's assurance yesterday that the Dabolim airport would be upgraded to world-class standards.

''The Congress government has been making this assurance for nearly a year. But, no concrete steps were taken as yet. When the AICC chief spoke about modernising the existing airport, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram during an election meeting last week had said that Goa required another airport at Mopa. There cannot be two airports in the state,'' he added.

Debunking Ms Gandhi's statement that onlythe Congress can provide a secular government, he wondered ''why is it that the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh passed the anti-conversion bill, which is on the same lines of the act passed in BJP-ruled Gujarat?'' He described the Congress and the BJP as ''one liquor bottle'' with different labels.

Mr Alemao claimed that Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had called and asked him to take the initiative to resolve the long- pending Mhadei river dispute between Karnataka and Goa.

''I took up the issue with Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane who neglected it,'' he said while referring to Ms Gandhi's statement in her speech yesterday that the Congress would not allow diversion of the Mhadei river water.

''Congress is indulging in double speak on issues concerning the common man in the state and people should not trust the party,'' he charged.

He claimed that his party will win 15 out of the total 17 seats that it is contesting.

Accusing all political parties in the state of coming together to pass the controversial Regional Plan-2011 which would have made Goans slaves of outsiders, the former chief minister said it was because of the resistance of the local people that the plan was shelved.

Mr Alemao said if his party was voted to power, he will focus on health and education.

''I will not allow a single penny from the state government's kitty to be spent on the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), because such festivals are for rich people only,'' he added.

Criticising the Congress, he said the party's election campaign is managed by a Mangalore-based firm.

''When it says it will provide jobs to local youth, the party engages outsiders to manage its election campaign,'' he charged.

He also rejected reports that he was hand in glove with the BJP and may join hands with the party in the event of a hung assembly.

UNI