MARGAO: Reacting to the news of another candidate for Benaulim constituency and a potential rival for his daughter, the PWD Minister, Mr Churchill Alemao on Monday challenged his detractors and opponents in the Congress to cross swords directly and not through proxies.

On Sunday Congress heavyweights, South Goa MP, Mr Francisco Sardinha and CWC member and ex Navelim MLA, Mr Luizinho Faleiro had come to Benaulim constituency for a function of South Goa Congress Committee vice-president, Mr Francis Sequeira.

Mr Sequeira announced that he was also in the ring as an aspiring Congress candidate for the Benaulim seat. Mr Sequeira opened his election office on Sunday a month after Mr Alemao’s daughter, Ms Valanka had opened hers. She had also publicly thrown her hat into the Benaulim political ring. Besides Mr Faleiro and Mr Sardinha also present for the function on Sunday were Congress leaders, Mr M K Shaikh and the Colva Parish Priest Fr Diago Fernandes. Mr Sequeira was pretty confident that ‘as per his information" the Congress high command had not promised ticket to any candidate so far, arguing that he had staked his "claim for the Congress ticket in Benaulim."

Replying to accusations by former comrade and CWC member, Mr Luizinho Faleiro’s insinuations on the Vishal Gomantak issue, Mr Alemao said that he was only referring to the idea mooted by Konkanni protagonist, Late Ravindra Kelekar and was open to discussions on
the issue. He said that the idea had to be discussed and then "we could either accept it or reject it". On Sunday, Mr Faleiro, whom Mr Alemao had defeated from his stronghold in Navelim, had opposed any moves for a larger Goan land mass by merging Konkani speaking areas into the state arguing that he did not want the ghost of the merger to come back, this time through the back door. He also said that Goans could loose their identity because of this.

Stating that Goans had already lost a large part of their identity he said that this "will be like another step when some people launched a movement to merge Goa into Maharashtra saying Marathi is the language of Goans."

Mr Faleiro was reacting to the issue raised by some including Konkanni stalwarts for merger of Konkani speaking areas of Karwar to make
Greater Goa.