Velingkar says alliance with MGP only after 'analysis'

Despite aggressively pursuing key leaders of MGP for a pre-poll alliance, rebel RSS leader Subhash Velingkar was on Tuesday cautious about immediately announcing a tie-up.

Speaking to IANS, Velingkar said that the Goa Suraksha Manch would first "assess" the situation following the sacking of the two ministers, before jumping into an alliance.

Late on Monday, MGP's Dhavalikar brothers Sudin and Deepak, were sacked by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, following days of acerbic exchanges between MGP-BJP leaders.

This virtually ended the five-year-long alliance between the two parties -- the Bharatiya Janata Party-Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party.

Velingkar, who is mentoring a new anti-BJP political outfit, said: "We are still cautious," when asked if an alliance between the MGP and the Manch was on cards, now as the other alliance was nearly over.

The Manch is a political avatar of the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch, which was taking on the BJP and one of its top leaders Manohar Parrikar.

Velingkar claims there was a betrayal of promises to promote regional languages Konkani and Marathi as a medium of instruction in the state's government-aided primary schools and cheating on poll promises made in 2012.

Following his constant criticism, Velingkar was sacked as state Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief. In response, the former sanghachalak set up a parallel unit of the Sangh in Goa and mentored a new political outfit.

He aims to defeat the BJP in the upcoming polls, likely to be held early 2017.

Velingkar and his political party had also been aggressively pursuing the MGP and the Dhavalikar brothers for a pre-poll alliance to take on the BJP.

However, the brothers' who have a vice-like grip on the MGP's affairs, appeared reluctant to respond.

Sacking of Public Works Department Minister Sudin and his brother, Factories and Boilers Minister and state MGP President Deepak, appeared to have tilted the scales of negotiation in favour of Velingkar.

The rebel RSS leader, however, now insists, that his political outfit did not believe in making compromises on principles and therefore would not jump to an alliance, without analysing the new developments.

"BBSM and Goa Suraksha Manch have sound ideological basis. We are not willing to do anything for power. We will wait and analyse the situation in view of Monday's developments," he said.

Velingkar, however, said that the sacking of the two MGP ministers was expected and that it only emboldened the political outfit he was mentoring.

"The intensity with which the MGP was defying the BJP, this was expected... Our confidence is now rising because of this development," Velingkar said.

--IANS

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