Ex-Goa Congress Prez slams newfound bonhomie between Shinde, Sawant over Mahadayi issue

The Congress in Goa has slammed the newfound bonhomie between the BJP-led governments in Maharashtra and Goa over the Mahadayi water-sharing issue, days after Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the two states would join forces to take on Karnataka in the battle for Mahadayi.

Former state Congress president Girish Chodankar on Wednesday questioned the timing of the 'alignment' between the two states soon after the Congress won the recently-held state assembly polls in Karnataka and wrested it from the Bharatiya Janata Party.

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“Who had stopped Pramod Sawant and Eknath Shinde to make such statements and act against Karnataka when there was a BJP government in Centre, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa. Now it is evident that both (chief ministers) are dancing on the tunes of Centre and making statements to attain political dividend after BJP lost miserably in Karnataka,” Chodankar said in a statement.

Chodankar also dared Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to take on the Maharashtra government over the latter's decision to construct a dam at Virdi across the Valvanti river -- another inter-state river -- to divert its waters away from Goa.

“If Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is really concerned about the water shortage issue of Goa, then he should warn Eknath Shinde not to do construction activities at Virdi dam... Does Pramod Sawant have the audacity to speak to his bosses at centre and intervene in matters to stop Maharashtra from diverting water,” Chodankar said.

In April this year, the Goa administration was jolted by the Maharashtra government's decision to restart work on the Virdi dam, soon after which the state government issued notice to its counterpart in Maharashtra to immediately stop the ongoing works. The Goa government has also demanded an enquiry into the approvals granted by agencies for the construction of the dam, which is in the process of being constructed in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, which borders Goa.