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. We are a full fledged state developed much compared to the other states," Goa's leader of opposition Pratapsinh Rane told reporters.
Rane was reacting to remarks made by Shah on Monday at a public meeting in Vasco town. When asked whether such a trend favors 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.
Parrikar was the former CM of Goa before he was elevated as the Defence Minister. On the possibility of leading the state, he had recently said, "let us cross the bridge when it comes." Goa is going to polls on February 4.
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 in this regard.
On Shah's statement about Parrikar, Tendulkar said, "He (Shah) must have said it depending on the demands and expectations of the people. At present, Parrikar and Union ministers Shripad Naik and Nitin Gadkari are leading the party's campaign in Goa."
(With PTI inputs)