Panaji: Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) Media Department Chairman Amarnath Panjikar has strongly criticized Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar for what he described as misleading and irresponsible statements regarding the recent power tariff hike.
Panjikar said Dhavalikar had publicly announced a 20% power tariff increase between 5 pm and 9 am, but later denied his own statement and blamed the media for “misreporting.” He said it was unfortunate that a senior minister in the BJP government was attempting to deceive Goans instead of accepting responsibility.
“The minister’s own video clip is clear proof of what he said. His attempt to shift the blame onto journalists only exposes the arrogance and dishonesty of this BJP government,” Panjikar remarked.
He further accused Dhavalikar of trying to cover up mismanagement instead of apologizing for the confusion caused to the public. “The BJP government, which has already burdened Goans with high electricity bills, fuel prices, and inflation, is once again trying to fool the people through false denials,” he said.
Panjikar also demanded that Minister Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar issue an immediate apology — both to the media fraternity for wrongly accusing them, and to the Opposition for using derogatory language such as “murkh” and “bekar padlya” during his press conference. “Such uncivil and insulting remarks are unbecoming of a senior minister and reflect the frustration and arrogance of a failed government,” he added.
Concluding his statement, Panjikar said, “The people of Goa are watching. No amount of lies or U-turns can hide the fact that this government has completely lost credibility.”
