No dynasty politics, Goa BJP chief on Parrikar’s son
Panaji: BJP does not give weightage to dynasty, newly appointed state party president Sadanand Shet Tanavade said on Tuesday, when asked if former Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar’s elder son Utpal would be given a role in active and electoral politics.
In his first formal media interaction after being appointed president on Sunday, Tanavade also backed the induction of Atanasio Monserrate, an MLA from Panaji who has been chargesheeted for raping a minor girl, saying the accusations against him were not proven in a court of law.
While responding to a question on whether the BJP would urge Utpal to play a more active role in the party’s affairs, Tavanade said: “BJP is not anybody’s personal party. Manohar bhai has contributed towards taking the party to such a height. He is our ideal. BJP does not believe in dynasticism. Anyone can come and work for the party. There is no question about convincing someone specifically. He (Utpal) is within the party, he is a party worker, he works for the party”.
After Parrikar’s death in March last year, Utpal was tipped to contest his father’s Panaji legislative assembly seat, but his candidature was dropped at the last minute.
While Uptal has been attending party events, he has repeatedly maintained that the Goa BJP and the BJP-led government under Pramod Sawant had deviated from his father’s principles.
Tanavade also said that it would be unfair to compare the leadership styles of Parrikar and his successor Sawant, as the latter considered the former Defence Minister as his guru.
“Pramod Sawant’s ideal is Manohar Parrikar. You cannot compare a guru (teacher) to a shishya (pupil). Manohar Parrikar is Manohar Parrikar. Pramod Sawant is Pramod Sawant,” Tanavade said.
When asked whether the BJP in Goa had lived up to its billing as a party with a difference, especially after inducting a defecting Congress MLA Atanasio Monserrate, who has been chargesheeted by the police in a rape case, Tanavade said: “Even though there are charges, people have elected him… Having charges is one thing and the charges being proven is another.”
Tanavade, a former MLA was elected unopposed as the state BJP president on Sunday, replacing Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Tendulkar, who served at the helm for two consecutive terms.