Sardesai, two BJP legislators spar in Goa assembly

Two newly-inducted BJP MLAs had a verbal duel with former Goa deputy chief minister Vijai Sardesai in the assembly after the latter claimed he was heckled in the house during his speech on Wednesday.

Sardesai claimed he was heckled by BJP MLA Clafacio Dias while speaking on the demands for grants for the Public Works Department.

Dias and another BJP MLA Isidore Fernandes, who were amongst the 10 Congress legislators who joined the saffron outfit a fortnight ago, objected to a statement by Sardesai wherein he had used a derogatory term in the assembly to describe their switching sides.

Fernandes strongly objected to the use of the unparliamentary word by Sardesai, who stood his ground and justified his description of the two ruling party MLAs.

The word was later expunged from assembly record by Speaker Rajesh Patnekar.

Talking to reporters outside the assembly complex, Sardesai said he had responded with the word when he was heckled by Dias.

Sardesai, president of the Goa Forward Party (GFP), said this happened when he raised the issue of denotification of the state highway at South Goa's Chandor village, which has been declared a protected site by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Chandor is part of the Cuncolim assembly constituency represented by Dias.

"When I raised the issue, Dias started disturbing me. It was a professional heckling. That is why I got angry," the former deputy chief minister said.

"If he (Dias) was really bothered about his constituency, why didnt he raise the issue?We have been raising this issue...we have been taking it up and we will take it to logical conclusion, Sardesai asserted.

Sardesai said during his tenure as town and country planning minister, the road was denotified, but the decision is yet to be approved by the chief minister.

"We took the decision to denotify the Chandor state highway in August 2018 and now we are in 2019. The file is with the chief minister, the GFA legislator said.