PANAJI: A day after BJP chief Amit Shah said the next Goa government will be functioning under the leadership of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, the Congress on Tuesday rebutted Shah, arguing that “Goa is not a union territory to be governed by Delhi.”
“It is for the people of Goa to think on what Shah said. We are not a Union territory to be ruled from Delhi,” Goa’s leader of opposition Pratapsinh Rane said.
When asked whether such a trend favours the state, Rane said, “It is not good for the entire country where Defence Minister is seen more interested in Goa than what is happening at the border.”
“Parrikar is already ruling the state through remote control. Every weekend he spends here since he became the Defence Minister,” Rane quipped.
Meanwhile, BJP’s state chief Vinay Tendulkar claimed that people want the Defence Minister to be brought back to Goa and also asserted the RSS is with the BJP for the polls. However, he refused to divulge on the party’s strategy.
Tendulkar said, “Shah must have said it depending on the demands. At present, Parrikar and Shripad Naik and Nitin Gadkari are leading the campaign in Goa.”