PANAJI: Condemning the statement of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) general secretary Acharya Radhakrishna Manori about banning beef in Goa, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Luizinho Faleiro, on Monday, said that the BJP has hidden agenda in VHP’s beef ban statement.
There is hidden agenda in the statement, said Faleiro adding their plan is to divide the people of Goa on communal lines.
Stating that the state does not require an extra-judicial authority like VHP to overrule government of the day and law of the land, the GPCC president said that Goa has its own legislation to deal with cow slaughter.
If anyone is found slaughtering a cow, then the Congress party will favour strict action as per the existing laws, he said adding price of buffalo and bullock meat in Goa is 200-300 per cent higher than
the price of the meat sold in the neighbouring states.
“Last year, some organisations had stopped the import of buffaloes and bullocks from neighbouring states, and also they shut the Goa Meat Complex at Usgao. And, some BJP leaders, who are looking after the Goa Meat Complex, took advantage of the artificial shortage and helped the black marketers to increase the price of the meat,” said Faleiro.
Referring to the recent ban on sale of liquor along the state and national highways by the Supreme Court, the GPCC president asked the government to clarify as to why it has failed to provide relief to affected liquor outlet owners even after four months of the judgment. “Instead of denotifying the state and national highways in Goa, the government has identified all the major district roads and notified them as national highways,” he claimed.
Meanwhile, speaking to this daily, Leader of Opposition Chandrakant ‘Babu’ Kavlekar demanded with the government to immediately release the Sonshi villagers, who were arrested during the protest over air and dust pollution, as they are not in a position to pay Rs 10,000 for getting themselves released on bail.
“These villagers are poor and belong to Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe. They are not against mining operation, but they are against the pollution caused due to ore transportation. I request the Chief Minister to look into the matter on a humanitarian ground and provide them relief,” he added.