Manohar Parrikar's kin files complaint against Goa Suraksha Manch for 'defaming' chief minister

Panaji: A relative of Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar has filed a complaint against activists of the Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM) for allegedly defaming the chief minister and his family members during a protest. The chief minister’s nephew, Akhil Parrikar, lodged a complaint on Sunday at the Agassaim police station in North Goa district, accusing GSM leader Hrudaynath Shirodkar and others of “defaming and maligning the image of Manohar Parrikar and his family members”. Meanwhile, GSM workers also lodged a counter-complaint against BJP activists, including Akhil Parrikar, for manhandling and assaulting them during the protest on Saturday on the sidelines of BJP president Amit Shah’s meeting. [caption id=“attachment_1091279” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Manohar Parrikar. CNN-IBN[/caption] The activists of GSM, a political party floated by a former RSS functionary, protested against Shah’s reported statement at an election rally in Karnataka that he would assure a supply of the Mahadayi river water to farmers in the southern state, if the party was voted to power. The chief minister’s nephew, in his complaint, alleged that while he was proceeding towards the venue of Shah’s meeting, the GSM activists stopped his car and threw a water bottle at his mother. He also accused the GSM supporters of manhandling him and his family while they were travelling in the car, and shouting slogans against the chief minister and the BJP that, he claimed, were intended to “defame and malign” the chief minister’s image. However, in a cross-complaint filed at the same police station, the GSM workers alleged that Akhil Parrikar along with others stopped at the place where they were “peacefully demonstrating” and hurled abuses at them. GSM general secretary Atmaram Gaonkar demanded action against those who disrupted the “peaceful demonstration”. When contacted, a senior official at the Agasaim police station confirmed receiving both the complaints and said that an inquiry was on. “We have taken the statements of those named in the complaints,” he added. Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, through a video message, yesterday said that he would return to his home state in the “next few weeks” from the US, where he has been undergoing medical treatment since March. The video message was played at the BJP workers’ meeting that was addressed by party president Amit Shah.