PANAJI
Union Minister of State of Tourism Shripad Naik on Sunday censured his own party's Pramod Sawant government for repeatedly ignoring protocol requirement of inviting him to inaugural events of Central government-funded projects in his North Goa parliamentary constituency.
"I don't know if it is a mistake or is deliberately being done. The chief minister and the concerned minister should look into it. A mistake can happen once, twice. When it happens repeatedly, questions arise," Naik said, a day after Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte inaugurated the refurbished Dona Paula jetty.
The project was executed by the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) but funded through the 'Swadesh Darshan' scheme of the Union Tourism Ministry in which Naik is a Minister of State, and had himself played a role in allocating the funds.
Not just Naik, but State Cabinet minister Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate and his MLA-wife Jennifer, who both represent the twin constituencies of Panaji and Taleigao were also missing from the jetty inaugural function on Saturday.
The Monserrates' son Rohit, who is the Mayor and heads the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) in whose jurisdiction the Dona Paula jetty falls, was also conspicuously absent at the event.
Naik was responding to queries posed by the media over his absence at Saturday's inaugural event where Khaunte threw open to the public the jetty which had been shut for nearly five years.
The Central minister expressed displeasure at not being invited and said the chief minister and the tourism minister should inquire how this happened. He also said such a faux pas should never have occurred since the State and the Central government are of the BJP.
"Both the governments are ours. This shouldn't have happened. I am also the MP of North Goa where this project was inaugurated," Naik added.
