Tourist taxis stand-off: MGP's Dhavalikar targets ex CM

Amidst a stand-off between the Goa government and operators of tourist taxis over an app-based cab service, former transport minister Sudin Dhavalikar on Monday blamed ex-chief minister late Manohar Parrikar for taking a "lenient stand" on the issue.

Dhavalikar, who was part of the Parrikar-led cabinet, said the then chief minister "frequently extended the deadlines for installing digital meters on tourist taxis, which was part of the High Court order".

"I was insisting that owners of tourist taxis should be asked to install digital meters for transparency in the tariff charged by them. But Parrikar granted them extensions," the senior Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party (MGP) MLA told reporters outside the state legislative assembly complex.

Several hundred tourist taxi operators have kept their vehicles off the roads in the coastal state since August 2 demanding that app-based cab service 'Goa Miles' be scrapped.

They have also threatened to surrender their permits, if their demand is not met by August 8.

For its part, the government on Sunday asked the striking tourist taxi operators to rejoin work or face action under the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA).

"Parrikar also adopted a lenient stand on installing speed governors on taxis and on making high-security number-plates compulsory, which he should not have done," he alleged.

Dhavalikar was dropped as deputy chief minister from the Pramod Sawant-led government when two MLAs of the MGP switched over to the BJP.