PANAJI: Despite having serious
criminal
offences right from rape to offence against property and corruption,
BJP in Goa has chosen seven of its
candidates
as it “firmly believes that they can best
represent
the
aspirations
of the
people
and share a good rapport with the people of the constituency”.
The seven include Rohan Khaunte for Porvorim, Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate for Panaji, revenue minister Jennifer Monserrate for Taleigao, transport minister Mauvin Godinho for Dabolim, deputy chief minister Chandrakant ‘Babu’ Kavlekar for Quepem, Govind Gaude for Priol and Krishna Salkar for Vasco.
Interestingly, they have made it to BJP’s first list of 34 candidates ahead of others without criminal
cases
against them. The party has justified its decision by saying that they have been involved in social work and that there was no other person who could better represent the voice of the people of the area.
The party’s justification about the criminal antecedents of the seven candidates has been given in a public notice as per the requirement of the Election Commission of India.
The criminal cases range from offences against property, rape, damage to public property, agitation and corruption, among others.
As per the party, Khaunte has been chosen as he has a two-term experience as MLA and has been minister for revenue, IT, labour and employment, and planning and statistics. Additionally, he has been awarded the ‘Adarsh Yuva Vidhayak Puraskar’.
BJP has also stated that Khaunte has worked tirelessly for the underprivileged, women empowerment, students and has carried out social activities.
“The chargesheet does not indicate any direct involvement of the candidate (Khaunte) for the offence charged. Documents show that he was a non-executive director who was not involved in the day-to-day affairs of the company and was not incharge and was not responsible for the conduct of the business of the company in 2009-2010. Therefore, offence against the candidate is not serious and the candidate is
best
available,” BJP general secretary stated in a public notice.
On the party’s decision to choose the Monserrate couple, it was stated that they are very senior politicians who have been actively engaged in social service in their respective constituencies for the past many years and have been found to have a good understanding of the ground situation and share a good voter rapport.
Gaude, who embraced BJP recently, was also chosen for his engagement in social service and as he is an active voice representing the interest of the ST communities in the state for the past many years.
Godinho, too, made it to BJP’s first list as he was found to have a good understanding of the ground situation and shared a good rapport with his voters.
Kavlekar, BJP stated it chose as he is an active social worker espousing the cause of farmers, forest dwellers and the marginalised sections of the society.
He was chosen over other candidates without criminal antecedents as he has been representing the people of Quepem in the zilla panchayat as well as in the House on consecutive occasions and has been vocal for the rightful claims of the people without any gender, cast or religious bias.
A new face for BJP in Vasco, Salkar’s selection was attributed to his activeness in the social and political sphere and because he has been an active voice in raising issues of political importance.
“The case at hand is a politically motivated case where the accused along with the local public gheraoed the complainant. False case has been registered against the accused,” the BJP general secretary stated.
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