the goan I network
MARGAO
Asserting that his government will not shy away from arming the ZPs with powers and funds, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday mulled Zilla Bhavans for the North and South Goa ZPs, going to the extent of saying that certain schemes in the field of agriculture, health and education can be routed through the district panchayat bodies.
As the CM descended on the Zilla Panchayat battlefield to drum up support for the party-backed candidates, Sawant promised to double the allocation of development funds for the ZPs and said his government was not opposed to the devolution of powers and funds to the local bodies.
Speaking in Davorlim in support of the party’s sitting ZP member Ulhas Tuemkar, the CM exuded confidence that Tuemkar will not only retain the Davorlim seat, but the Lotus will bloom in Navelim in the 2022 Assembly election.
Launching a scathing attack on the opposition, Sawant said many of the opposition parties even called him an accidental Chief Minister who will not last long. “I want to tell these people that I will not only complete the remaining two years, but the BJP will return to power in 2022 with a majority,” he said.
Saying that the opposition did not give him enough time to prove himself and demanded too much from him in a single year, Sawant pointed out that he was not even born when some of the members of the opposition were in politics. “During my one-year stint in office, a number of projects have been initiated in the State. They accuse me of taking loans, but these are for the state’s development given the prevailing financial situation,” he added.
In a bid to woo the youth towards the BJP, the Chief Minister said that jobs numbering around 8000-10000 will be created and filled up in the next two years, adding that the government will also ensure that Goan youth get employment in the private sector as well.
Touching on the contentious CAA issue, the CM demanded to know what is wrong if the government is providing citizenship to the prosecuted Hindus, Christians, Parsis, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. “These very same people did not spare Lord Parashuram,” he said, while urging the people to teach the Congress a lesson in the election.
