MARGAO: Leader of Opposition (LoP) Yuri Alemao highlighted the apparent oversight of the BJP government in commemorating the 100th birthdays of two esteemed personalities, Manohar Rai Sardessai and Ravindra Kelekar, a Gyanpeeth award winner.
Alemao urged the Chief Minister to rectify this by organising an official function to honour these individuals and to mark the beginning of their centenaries.
He said that the Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant should do homework in mathematics and released a video of the Chief Minister claiming in the Assembly that the centenary of Sardessai and Kelekar begins in 2025.
“It appears that the BJP Government is sidelining our own Goan icons like Manoharrai Sardessai, Ravindrabab Kelekar and others. Government has no mechanism in
place to maintain data of great Goans,” the LoP pointed out.
He further said that they have seen celebrations of national heroes by the BJP Government in the recent past by organising mega events. Unfortunately, the same spirit and enthusiasm is not found while celebrating Goan icons.
“When I raised the issue of the failure of the Government to commemorate the Birth Centenary of Great Goan Poet Manoharrai Sardessai in the last Assembly Session, the Chief Minister tried to justify the failure by giving wrong calculations. 2024 is the beginning of the centenary of persons born in 1925,” he claimed.
LoP said that he has observed that neither the General Administration Department nor Protocol Department has any data of great Goans including Freedom Fighters.
“The Department of Information and Publicity also points fingers at others. The Chief Minister designated a department to maintain such records. There is no point in hosting mega events spending crores of rupees. The Goa Government must organise productive programmes which will help the next generations to know about the contributions of Goan icons,” said Yuri.