Says
PANAJI
​Congress on Friday attempted to tighten the noose on the BJP-led government, which assumed power in 2012, with young Congressman and Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee president Sachin Pilot specifically targeting former Chief Minister and now Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar as well as the BJP for damaging the developmental agenda of the state.
Pilot, while insisting that the BJP has failed to deliver every promise listed by it in 2012, declared that the instability and fractures within the party have stalled the development of Goa.
Training guns at Parrikar, the former Union corporate affairs minister retorted, “As the defence minister, his performance has certainly been under question. I don’t think that any defence minister has been so disinterested in his job.”
Pilot brushed aside any qualms over the retun of Parrikar to Goa as the CM and said, “They might as well be frank and upfront and say that so and so will be the CM face. But they are shying away from that for obvious reasons. We don’t know the internal goings on of the BJP. But I can tell you that they are not coming back to power in Goa.”
He also claimed that the AAP is not a threat to the principal opposition party while declaring that ‘nationally, the only alternative to BJP is the Congress’.
Pilot questioned the legitimacy of AAP’s manifesto promises as well as its delivery in Delhi and added that the party, which has no roots in Goa, is only working to break Congress votes at the upcoming polls.
Congress stressed yet again that it is confident of forming the government in Goa on March 11. “It is reflected in the fact that when the elections were around the corner, while BJP was seeking allies, allies were seeking Congress. But after due consideration, we decided to contest on our own,” Pilot stated.
Commenting on the issue of resumption of mining activities in the state, Pilot said, “We are for sustainable mining. No nexus, no mafia. Shutting down something is not appropriate when you can follow the Supreme Court guidelines and restart the industry to benefit masses.”
Referring to demonetization, the Congressman declared that it will be wrong to say that national issues will not feature in regional elections and opined that the move is linked with BJP’s hidden agenda of polarization of the society.
Responding to the queries over manifesto promise of five liters of free petrol per month to college students, Congress national general secretary Digvijaya Singh said that the party has given due thought to the financial aspect. “There are around 32,000 students in higher education and the calculation comes to Rs 12 to 13 crores a year which is doable.”
Speaking about the removal of casinos from River Mandovi, Singh insisted that the Congress is capable of pushing the vessels to the high seas. “If law and rules permit, we can even cancel licenses if they refuse to move to the high seas. Efforts would be directed at clearing Mandovi and giving more ethical riverfront to people.”
