Staff Reporter
Margao
The Revolutionary Goans Party (GRP), which made a mark in the recent assembly election by emerging victorious in the St. Andre assembly segment and gaining a good response in other constituencies, is all set to contest the panchayat elections, which will be held next month.
“We are definitely contesting the panchayat elections in Goa. We got a good vote share during the recent assembly election. The RGP has to encourage and support the youth to contest the panchayat election. We have to further our concept of making the villages self sustainable and self empowered. We are required to contest the grassroots level election to clean up the system and end the village level corruption,” said RGP president
Manoj Parab.
Speaking to ‘The Navhind Times’ at the sidelines of the felicitation programme of Romi Konkani writer Ives Tavares, who wrote the 23,640 pages, 182 kgs, Konkani biblical concordance and carved a niche for himself in the India’s World Records, Universal Books Forum and Indian Books of Records, Parab said, “We believe in decentralising the powers and in grassroots democracy. We have to take over the panchayats in Goa, to preserve the Goan villages’ identity,” he said underlining the importance of panchayat elections for the incumbent political party.
He said they will hold an important meeting on Sunday to discuss the candidates and strategise the plan adding, “The party will be short-listing the candidates who will contest the panchayat election. The said list will be released by the end of July.”
“We are not responsible for division of votes in the assembly election. We only gave options to the voters. If any political party feels that we are vote splitters, then they are wrong. We want to raise the issue of Goans identity in the assembly and we will do it through our lone legislator,”
he added.
Commenting on the POGO Bill, he said if the government is serious, then the bill will be brought in the assembly election.
