PANAJI: Leader of Opposition Pratapsing Rane, on Tuesday, said that it is not good for the country to have the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar visiting the state time and again when the situation at the border is not calm.
Rane said that Parrikar was remote controlling Goa from Delhi.
“Already he is remote controlling the state and every Saturday and Sunday he is here. It’s not good for the country to have the defence minister visiting every time when things are happening on the border,” he said.
The senior Congressman was reacting to the statement made by BJP national president Amit Shah on Monday that irrespective of where Parrikar may be working, the Goa government would function under his leadership.
Rane said, “We are not here as Delhi ruled or as Union territory, we are a full-fledged state and part of the Union of states. We are mature and far developed than the rest of the states in the country.”
The six time former chief minister said that if the Congress party takes over the reigns, it will ensure that regulated mining activities are restarted.
“Regulated mining as per the directives of the Supreme Court, we shall do it. After all for any industry to buildup, it doesn’t come up within couple of months. You (BJP) have closed down an industry which was nearly 70 – 80 years old without giving a proper thought to the welfare of the people,” he added.
He further said that the Congress would scrap the amendments to the tenancy Act and bring the Act back to its original form, ‘which was land to the tiller’.
He said, “We had introduced MNREGA and they did not implement it properly and it hardly functioned. We will take it up seriously so that people get regular employment as well as do certain lasting projects.”
Stating that the Congress would revive the health facilities in the state, he said “The health department has been neglected thoroughly which we want to set right. It involves everyone and it is not in the interest of the Goans to have a hospital which is not properly looked after. Therefore hospital management is one subject where we should look for proper people to man the hospitals. Don’t leave it to the doctors alone, because doctors are busy with operating and things like that.”