the goan I network
MAPUSA/PANAJI
Calling claims on plastic eggs as a “hoax” and “fraud on Goans”, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told the Legislative Assembly that there were attempts to spread panic among Goans, who were already reeling under the formalin issue.
Reading a report of the FDA, which conducted a test on an alleged “plastic egg” earlier in the day, Parrikar said that the test for plastic in the egg was “negative” and the appearance of the egg was also “normal”.
“This (plastic egg) is total hoax to create fear among the poor people. It is a fraud and the people of Goa should not fall it,” Parrikar said.
The Chief Minister sought to question the education of those people, who tried to raise the issue without studying the matter properly.
“Commons sense tells me this is economically unviable and education should have permitted us not to play God on such issues,” he hit out at the sceptics.
He said he did not blame the legislator who raised the issue without proper thought.
Earlier, Curtorim MLA, Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco had displayed three eggs in the Goa assembly raising apprehensions that ‘plastic eggs’ were on sale in Goa.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Reginaldo demanded the government get the eggs tested by the FDA or any other accredited laboratory and investigate the matter as it affected public health.
According to Reginaldo, a former legislator had also come across such plastic eggs in the market.
Reginaldo recalled that Parrikar had admonished him and thrown a “challenge” that there is no such thing as ‘plastic eggs’, when he had mentioned it during the discussion of the FDA budgetary demands.
Both Parrikar and Lourenco had then engaged in an intense debate where the former cautioned the Congress MLA against speculation without scientific scrutiny.
“I am an engineer. I have knowledge of science. There can be no ‘plastic eggs’” Parrikar said, adding he is willing to take a bet. The comment however drew an immediate retort from the Curtorim MLA who questioned the co-relation of ‘engineering’ with analysing an egg for synthetic content.
Parrikar however shot back that he would get it checked with all laboratories and also send one to the Centre as well.
The Parrikar-Lourenco exchange drew hush-hush discussions among members and for a brief while, one of the three eggs was seen circulating among the MLAs.
