the goan I network
MARGAO
Launching a scathing attack on the ruling party for virtually turning the Western Zone Council meeting chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah into a BJP meeting, the Congress on Friday condemned the Goa government for not raising any of the pressing issues affecting the State, including drug trafficking, internal security, mining, etc at the meeting.
Addressing the media, GPCC President Girish Chodankar said that instead of taking up burning issues, the meeting only congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for abrogating 370 of the Constitution. He pointed out that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant ought to have taken up a host of issues plaguing Goa before the meeting, but lamented that the Chief Minister was quite on the pressing issues affecting the State. “I do not know whether the Chief Minister was quite since he is in the office. But, he should have sought advise from the MLAs during the Assembly session, including Leader of the Opposition Digambar Kamat or former CM Laxmikant Parsekar to put up Goa’s case before the Council,” Girish said.
Saying that drug trafficking is a major issue involving the three western states, the Congress president said the government ought to have effectively presented Goa’s case before the Council when Ketamine drug weighing 100 kg was unearthed from the IDC by Directorate of Revenue intelligence sleuths.
He further said the Tillari irrigation should have been taken up at the Council meeting with several villages inundated in North Goa after the Maharashtra government unilaterally releasing flood waters. “Even the issue over fishing by vessels from Goa and Maharashtra should have been raised at the Council meeting to work out a solution,” he added.
On the issue of internal security, Girish pointed out that Chief Minister should have raised the issue of killings of writers by right wing radicals in Maharashtra and the Margao bomb blast case. “Today, our very own writer Damodar Mauzo is moving around with police protection following threats from these radical elements,” he said.
He further pointed out that the government should have taken up the issue of jobs for the sons of the soil in central government offices and institutions such as the nationalised banks by insisting language of Konkani compulsory for the jobs. “Why was the mining issue not officially raised at the meeting when the Council deliberates on livelihood issues,” Girish questioned, while saying the government is only fooling the mining dependents with the promise of resolving the mining issue.
