We didn't adopt confrontationist approach, says Digambar

NT NETWORK
Posted on 2008-10-21
PANAJI- The Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat on Monday said that his government did not want to adopt confrontationist approach with the organisations that had called for Goa bandh and force the traders to keep their shops open against their wishes.
The Chief Minister told The Navhind Times late on Monday evening that he had promised to provide security to those who wished to keep their shops open but did not want to force the traders to keep their shops open and use of any force as it would have given an opportunity to those who called the bandh to label the government as anti-Hindu.
Asked to reply on diversion of majority of police force to South Goa, Mr Kamat said the police and government had specific information that some miscreants wanted to create problems in Margao, Cuncolim, Quepem and some other areas as such the police were deployed in larger numbers in South Goa as compared to North Goa.
He also said that the bandh called by Akhil Goa Mandir Suraksha Samiti succeeded because the traders and people did not want confrontation with those who had called the bandh to protest against desecration of some temples located in remote areas, especially in South Goa. Since the people kept the shops shut on their own the government did not want to force them to open the shops against their will.
The Chief secretary, Mr J P Singh said the bandh was largely peaceful barring a few incidents, most of which were minor in nature. The people kept their shops shut on their own, he added.
The Bharatiya Janata Party said the “spontaneous participation of Goans” in the Goa bandh as sign of “desperation and anger of Goans towards failure of the government in maintaining law and order as well as providing good administration to the people”. It thanked the Goans for making bandh a huge success.
Addressing a press conference, the leader of the opposition, Mr Manohar Parrikar said the Goa bandh was not only successful, but also by and large, peaceful, with few exceptions in Mapusa and Margao.
“In fact, the city of Panaji did not witness any untoward incident,” he added.
Stating that the lathi-charge carried out by the police in Mapusa was uncalled for as the situation never went out of hand, Mr Parrikar maintained, “The people attacked one of the establishments in Mapusa as they suspected that it had housed some anti-social elements carrying swords.”
Pooh-poohing the invocation of the Section 144 by the government, Mr Parrikar said that people were seen moving in large numbers in areas which restricted movements by people in groups. “In fact, another religious place was desecrated at Kullem in South Goa,” he pointed out demanding that the government should now seek a political ‘sanyas’.
The opposition leader came out strongly against the letters issued by the police to 30 to 35 people, who are or were linked to the BJP, including Mr Subhash Salkar, the general secretary of the state unit of the party, warning them as regards their participation in the bandh.
“In fact, some of these people are not even residing in Goa now,” Mr Parrikar said adding that such warning notices, if sent to certain people, could have prevented recent attack on the social activist, Mr Aires Rodrigues and others.
He indicated that a large number of people from Bhatkal in Karnataka, which is an important centre of Students Islamic Movement of India and only 200 km from Goa, have settled in the state and a vigil should be maintained on them so as to prevent their efforts to create a division among various communities in Goa.
“Goa’s strength is the unity amongst its various communities, and it should be preserved at any co1st,” he added.