By IANS,
Panaji : The Congress party, which has a seat-sharing arrangement with the Nationalist Congress Party in Goa, Thursday objected to NCP workers’ statements that their party chief Sharad Pawar would be the prime minister if the coalition wins.
“The Congress wants to make it amply clear that we do not subscribe to these views. Manmohan Singh is the only prime ministerial candidate as far as our party is concerned,” Goa Congress spokesperson Vishnu Wagh told mediapersons here.
Pawar’s party had neither manpower nor any network in Goa and it was the Congress which was going all out to root for their consensus candidate Jitendra Deshprabhu, he said.
“Therefore, the NCP leaders should exercise caution when they speak about a serious issue like who will lead the country if the alliance wins,” Wagh said.
Meanwhile, Wagh, whose controversial appointment as media advisor to the Department of Information and Publicity has been terminated by the Election Commission, said he would defy the ruling and continue to attend office. The poll panel had said the appointment violated the model code of conduct.
“The EC has paid no heed to the principle of natural justice, before pronouncing the order. I was not even asked for a say. I will continue to visit my office, unless I am specifically told not to by the administration,” Wagh said.
The Election Commission has censured the chief minister and four ministers for assuring 2,000-odd families living in Goa’s coastal areas that the Congress-led alliance government would save their homes from demolition due to Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) violations.
Wagh said: “The EC does not know anything about CRZ violations. There is nothing wrong with a government assuring its people that their homes will not be razed due to CRZ violations.”