PANAJI: Aam Aadmi Party has said that Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai’s “scum of the earth” remark against domestic tourists was derogatory and showed his outdated feudal classist mindset.
In a press statement, AAP said, “The word scum is unacceptable coming from a minister against fellow Indians and generalising all domestic (Indian) tourists. His cultural segregation and commenting on the quality of the guests only defines his outdated feudal classist mindset. This is the last word that can be used against fellow Indians and therefore AAP demands an apology from the minister.”
The press note further said, “The government’s inability to govern and provide facilities and systems for the visiting tourists (guests) is not the reason to blame the visitor. Popular tourist destinations across the globe do not distinguish one visitor from the other but provide the necessary infrastructure to manage the influx.”
AAP further said that the tourism industry in Goa is going down the drain because the government has not done work on the ground to attract high-spending tourists.
“Tourism industry is marred not by domestic tourists but by drug-trafficking gangs, prostitution, gambling dens, illegal constructions, which is happening with full blessings and patronage of our politicians. The roads are lined with tonnes of garbage and along with swaying palms and white sands, tourists who visit Goa every year also take back images of heaps of garbage. The minsters and bureaucrats embark on yearly junkets in the name of studying methods of garbage treatment used in Austria, Germany and Italy, but there has been no improvement on the ground.”
