Complaint filed against Vijay Sardesai over 'weaponising youth' remark

The Goa Congress on Tuesday filed a complained with the Election Commission (EC) against state's Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai over his comments on "weaponising" the youth.

The complainant Vivek D'Silva, who is North Goa district's Youth Congress president, has said that Sardesai's remark was "an indirect attempt to threaten voters" in the run-up to bypolls in Goa.

He further claimed Sardesai made these comments with an intent to "excite disaffection and to create hatred amongst the people of Goa against the government."

D'Silva further claimed that Sardesai's comments were "against the state" and demanded that he be booked for sedition.

On May 7, Sardesai had reportedly said that he would "weaponise" his party's youth, if the BJP-led coalition government, which he and his party are a part of, did not reverse dilution of domicile norms for recruitment in state government as well as state-funded autonomous bodies like the Goa University.

"We are willing to go anywhere to protect the interests of Goans. And this has to happen. And if our government has made a mistake then the Goa Forward youth, we will back them fully. We will weaponise them. I am going controversially to say this...that we will weaponise them to see that Goenkarponn (Goanness) is protected," Sardesai had said.

It should be noted that Sardesai's party is a member of the BJP-led coalition government, but Goa Forward is not contesting the upcoming Panaji Assembly bypoll.