Trade union leader and well known mining activist Puti Gaonkar joins Aam Aadmi Party
Mining front’s Puti Gaonkar joined AAP to contest against CM
President of the Goa Mining People’s Front (GMPF), Puti Gaonkar, joined Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday, in the presence of AAP national convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. He said his aim is to resume mining in the state and to resolve all the land ownership issues.
AAP national convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal welcomed Puti Gaonkar in the party. He said, “joining of a leader like Puti Gaonkar will give a lot of strength to the AAP in Goa. Gaonkar has discussed many issues with me. He told me about the injustice being done to mining dependent families. I want to assure that if AAP comes to power, then mining will start in Goa within six months under the guidance of Gaokar. We are going to meet the mining dependent families and the families who are fighting for their land rights since many decades”.
“All the parties should withdraw the candidates in Sanquelim assembly constituency and support Puti Gaonkar in that seat to contest against CM. So that it will be direct fight between CM and Puti Gaonkar”.
He further said, “Aam Aadmi Party is the most honest party in the country. Corruption has become the main problem in Goa politics. Aam Aadmi Party is the only party that can give an honest governance in the state. Many leaders of Goa have come and seen Delhi. AAP government has been giving free electricity 24 hours a day in Delhi. They have seen the development in the education, infrastructure and health sector and Goans want to see such development in their state”.
“At the time of the Delhi’s first election AAP won 67 seats and in the time of second election AAP won 62 seats. This shows that Delhiites are very happy with AAP’s work. This is unprecedented mandate. If Goa will give onc chance to the AAP, Goans will forget BJP and Congress forever”, Kejriwal said.
Puti Gaonkar said, “AAP is the party that fulfills the promises it makes. A few days ago, I had a discussion with AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on mining, land ownership and other issues. All the promises made by Kejriwal in Delhi have been fulfilled. So be it good infrastructure or the promise of free electricity, they have done it all. They have done good work in health and education sector. Inspired by his Delhi model, I am joined the AAP Goa”.
Gaonkar said that mining technically stopped in Goa since 2012 and that this was done by former chief minister Manohar Parrikar.
“If BJP government has not started mining in the last 10 years, do you think that they will start now? They have vested interests,” he said.
Gaonkar questioned why when there was a BJP government both in the state and Centre they have not been able to restart mining.
He also said that AAP’s legal team has already started studying how to restart mining and that he has provided them with the documents.
Puti Gaonkar had recently announced the Goa State Navnirman Aghadi Forum aimed at taking on the BJP in the upcoming state elections.
