the goan I network
MARGAO
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interaction with North Goa karyakartas on Sunday, Congress MLA Reginaldo Lourneco on Wednesday hit out at the Prime Minister for his hollow promise of according Special Status to Goa despite resolutions adopted by the Legislative Assembly.
He also slammed the Centre for doing nothing since March 2018 when mining operations in the State had come to a halt post Supreme Court judgement.
“All of a sudden just few months before the 2019 general election, the Prime Minister assures Goans that his government will restart mining. I want to remind Modi and his BJP both at the Centre and in Goa that the mining activity of the State was stopped on March 15, 2018, and there has been a worry amongst Goans over the issue,” he said, while demanding to know why the Prime Minister and the BJP government have not been able to find a solution to the imbroglio.
Addressing the media, Reginaldo said one cannot forget that on January 12, 2014, Modi had promised Special Status to the state during his election speech at Merces and also protect Goa’s identity, environment and traditions. “Prior to its on April 15, 2013, there was an unanimous resolution demanding Special Status for Goa passed by the Manohar Parrikar government in the State Assembly. Sad to state, both PM and CM have forgotten completely the Special Status demand for Goa,” he added.
The three-time Congress MLA pointed out that Goans cannot trust Modi anymore with his promises for the simple reason that he has also fooled the people of India by not fulfilling promises made to them in the run up to the 2014 election.
Recalling Modi’s slogan ache din aane wale hai (good times would soon come) by promising many measures including crediting Rs 15 lakh in every honest tax payer’s bank account after bringing back the black money stashed overseas, Reginaldo said the PM has also failed on the job front and the promise to create two-crore jobs per year.
“Modi often says that Goa has a special place in his heart but Goemkars are completely aware that he fools them with hollow promises. I want to tell the PM that it was BJP’s national exectuvie meeting of 2002 in Goa which had saved him his CM’s chair when then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was all out to sack him after the Gujarat riots in 2002. It was again in 2013 that the BJP conclave was hosted in Goa and that had resulted in him being promoted as BJP’s campaign committee chief in the 2014 election,” he added.
