CM meets Viresh, but MLA says won’t stop strike till 39A is gone

Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday met St Andre MLA Viresh Borkar to appeal to him to call off his indefinite hunger strike, but the RGP leader refused to do so until govt scrapped Section 39(A) of the TCP Act and terminated the police personnel who manhandled him at the TCP office on Saturday.

In a late-night development, Panaji PI Vijay Kumar Chodankar and other personnel were transferred out of the city police station.


“We want to tell the chief minister that there is a need to scrap Section 39(A) of the TCP Act. We want govt to take a cabinet decision to scrap it and declare it to the public,” said Borkar. “The advocate general should file an affidavit in court and inform the bench that govt has decided to scrap all proposals cleared under Section 39(A). Govt should introduce and pass the bill to scrap it in the Assembly.”

Sawant was accompanied by WRD minister Subhash Shirodkar. Borkar said that the massive agitation would continue if govt did not scrap Section 39(A). “Until our demands are fulfilled, I will not call off my indefinite hunger strike. The CM asked me to take care of my health, but I want to tell you one thing: Goa’s health is my priority instead of my own health,” he said.

Borkar, who has been on a hunger strike for four days, urged all political parties, NGOs, and the public to unite to fight the battle.





He also demanded that nine proposals of land use in his St Andre constituency be scrapped, including four that got approved.





Borkar also said that he demanded that provisional and approved proposals be scrapped, to which the chief minister said he needed to check.

The Sawant-Borkar meet lasted around 20 minutes. “I am concerned about his health condition. I spoke to his doctor. I discussed Borkar’s demands positively. I urged him to call off his strike. I told him that he should discuss the issues in the Assembly, and an appropriate decision would be taken in the right forum,” the CM said, adding that based on this assurance, Borkar should call off his hunger strike.

However, after the CM left Azad Maidan, leader of opposition Yuri Alemao, opposition MLAs, and RGP president Manoj Parab held a meeting to decide whether or not Borkar should withdraw his indefinite hunger strike. Alemao said that they too urged him to withdraw the strike as his health was deteriorating, but he (Borkar) decided to continue it.

Earlier, at around 12.20am on Tuesday, Borkar was shifted to hospital, but he later returned to Azad Maidan to continue his strike.

Borkar and other agitators have been protesting since Saturday in an effort to get govt to scrap Section 39(A) and to suspend the Panaji PI for manhandling Borkar at the TCP office at Patto.

Thousands of protesters, including political leaders and NGOs, agitated outside both residences of TCP minister Vishwajit Rane in Dona Paula on Monday with the same demand.