Rane dismisses calls for resignation, says govt not run by NGOs

Panaji: A day after activists and environmentalists held a protest to demand the sacking of TCP minister Vishwajit Rane, he dismissed the demand saying govt is not run by NGOs. “If we pay attention to everything the protesters say, then let the NGOs run govt,” he said. “Govt doesn’t operate based on the protests.”
When asked about the concerns raised by the high court and by environmentalists, Rane said govt must defend its decisions. “We have to defend our decisions, and most importantly, we have to take legal recourse. A lot of decisions are taken in govt, and when we are in govt, we have to unanimously defend those decisions,” said Rane.
The minister further said that protests demanding his removal were instigated because he is “a strong leader of BJP”. “In politics, everyone wants to trip the strong leader,” said Rane.
He said lawyers appointed by the TCP department, officials of the department and others are studying the high court order on Section 17(2) to decide whether to approach the Supreme Court. He also said the names of the opposition MLAs who applied for land conversion would be released in the state legislative assembly.