PANAJI
Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza had his bags packed and was ready to leave on an extended foreign tour when a message from the Prime Minister’s Office informed him that his trip to Dubai among other destinations didn’t have the required approval.
D’Souza who was to attend the Goa International Film Festival at Dubai besides other destinations, will now remain in the State, sources have informed.
Deputy Chief Minister Francis D'Souza was to be the chief guest at the festival along with Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, Dubai, at the festival conceptualised by William Xavier, CEO of Wild Orchid Entertainments and president of Film and Television Association of Goa.
Official tours of ministers as well as other government officers, including that of the central and state governments, require prior approval of the Prime Minister’s Office.
D’Souza himself remained unavailable for a comment on the development.
Fifteen movies, including Konkani classics like Amchem Noxib, Nirmon, Bhuierantlo Munis, besides films in other Indian languages including Marathi, Hindi, Malayalam and Bengali will be screened at the Shaikh Rashid Auditorium at Bur Dubai.
Earlier, during his tenure as Tourism Minister, Union Minister of State and North Goa MP Shripad Naik's trips to Macau and Bangkok were scuttled.
