MARGAO
Slamming the government for calling a two-day session in February, Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai on Sunday said the people will take discussions on burning and sensitive issues to the Azad Maidan, Panaji, if the government refuses to discuss them in the Assembly.
Criticising Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for presiding over a dysfunctional assembly session, Sardesai said, “The recent assembly session has set a record for its inefficiency, effectively reduced to just one day. Vital issues such as land grabs, jobs-for-cash scams, the decline in tourism, and whether mining benefits Goans were conveniently ignored. The government wants to paint a rosy picture, but the reality is starkly different,” he said, while addressing the media on the side lines of a canine sterilisation camp organised by “We For Fatorda” in coordination with Mission Rabies.
Sardesai pointed out that Goa’s tourism sector has plummeted by 60 per cent since 2019, turning the State into a subject of ridicule. “Every online influencer is questioning why Goa is going to the dogs, but the government refuses to acknowledge or discuss these issues,” he asserted.
He urged the people of Goa to rise and demand accountability. “If mining is controlled by outsiders, tourism is in decline, and Goans are being forced to leave the State for jobs, where is Goa? What we have today is not Goa. If the government refuses to discuss these issues in the assembly, we will take this discussion to Azad Maidan,” he declared.
Giving a clarion call to the people of Goa to “Make Goa, Goa Again,” Sardesai emphasised that the people must come together to reclaim the State’s identity and future.
He slammed the BJP-led government for awarding a controversial single tender to an individual contractor in Margao Municipality, calling it a blatant violation of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) guidelines.
