Utter nonsense Mr. Parrikar, Goans want special status to save Goa from going into total abyss. And it is us Goans who should be the driving force to achieve this goal. Nothing will come from your plundering centre. Stop MOPA and get your navy friends out of Dabolim. BC TEAM HERALD teamher...@herald-goa.com PANJIM: Former tourism minister Matanhy Saldanha’s wife, Alina, on Monday joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is tipped to be the party candidate for forthcoming Cortalim by-election. Party sources have confirmed that Alina would be inducted in the state cabinet on May 6, two days after Goa Governor B V Wancho takes the charge. Sources said that the party is waiting for new Governor to take charge on May 4, after which Alina would be sworn in as a minister. Earlier this evening, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar along with BJP Goa Chief Laxmikant Parsekar welcomed Alina in the party fold, in the presence of huge supporters from Cortalim. Saldanha who was inducted in Parrikar-led cabinet had died within a fortnight of being swearing in as Minister on March 9 after suffering massive cardiac arrest. Talking to reporters soon after joining the party, Alina said ‘I promise the people of Cortalim and Goa that I will work hard and try my best to fulfill the promises made in the election manifesto of Matanhy’. Alina, who had announced her wish to contest the by-polls soon after the death of her husband, said that the electorate of Cortalim will help her clinch victory at the by-poll scheduled on June 2. “I am sure that party will retain its seat,” she added. When asked, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said that government has been working towards fulfilling Matanhy’s dream of special status to Goa. “Everyone likes special status. It is not in our hand. We will lobby with the centre to get the status,” he said.
