MARGAO
The Goa Forward party has slammed and condemned the “anti-national” decision of the Sports Minister Govind Gawde and the BJP government for ignoring the National Games.
Goa Forward party leader Mohandas Lolienkar said that Goa has been preparing for the National Games since 2008.
“Under the Parrikar led government, Goa was able to host the Lusofonia Games. However, ever since his elevation to the Centre, the BJP in Goa has been dragging its feet on hosting the prestigious National Games”, he added.
Lolienkar pointed out that the government in the Assembly stated that they have spent a total of over Rs 450 crores on constructing and upgrading Sports Infrastructure Development for staging various disciplines of the National Games as on 21st July, 2021.
“This is the hard-earned money of Goans who were given hope that Goa would host the National Games”, he added.
He referred to Sports Minister Govid Gawde’s claim that he needed six more months more months to host the National Games blaming the monsoon for the delay when the BJP government had 10 years to prepare for it.
“In the same breath, the Minister states that the work of upgrading the infrastructure for FIFA-U19 is underway and the tournament will be held in August. It appears that the Minister, who belongs to a party claiming to be nationalists, has chosen a private tournament to be held in August over the National Games. Unable to wait till November the Indian Olympic Association chose Gujarat to host the National Games this year”, Lolienkar said.
He further pointed out that by turning down the National Games, the Sports Minister and the BJP government has insulted the lakhs of Goan sports fans who hoped to watch and cheer for the Goan athletes.
