Shah's remarks on Mhadei like 'bomb explosion': Goa Forward Party

Panaji, Jan 29 Saying that Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on Mhadei diversion is like a 'bomb explosion' on the people of the state, Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai has demanded convening a 'House Committee' meeting to get to the bottom of the issue.

The Opposition in Goa has been attacking the BJP government since the Central Water Commission has granted permission to Detailed Project Report of Karnataka for the disputed Kalasa-Bhanduri dam.

During a rally in Belagavi on Saturday, Shah said: "Sonia Gandhi during a speech in Goa in the year 2007 said that the Congress government will not allow Mhadei water diversion to Karnataka. In 2022, Congress in their manifesto stated that Karnataka will not get a single drop of water from Mhadei. Today, I am here to tell you that the BJP at the centre has resolved the long dispute between Goa and Karnataka over Mhadei and allowed the diversion of Mhadei to Karnataka to satisfy the thirst of farmers of many districts."

"Amit Shah's speech is like a bomb (that exploded) on me and the people of Goa. It is a big shock for us that Mhadei water is diverted in connivance with the Goa government. However, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is not responding to his statement. Sawant is saying that he will study (Shah's remarks) and then give a reaction. Are we (people of Goa) fools? He is making a mockery of people over Mhadei, which is the lifeline of Goa," Sardesai said.

He said that while people of the state are concerned about the ongoing issue, Sawant is sleeping. "He should be awakened," Sardesai said, adding he has written letter to Water Resources Minister Subhash Shirodkar to convene an urgent meeting of the House Committee, headed by him, on Mhadei and to summon CM Sawant in the light of Shah's public statement in Belagavi that Karnataka CM had "taken along the Goa government before the decision on DPR was approved".

"Till now, CM Sawant has neither disputed Amit Shah's words nor issued any statement clarifying his role in what Goans see as a cruel betrayal of Goa. On the contrary, he has been maintaining all along that he's fighting the Union government and his party on behalf of Goa, and the DPR approval was an unilateral decision taken without his knowledge," Sardesai said.