The Zilla Panchayat Polling scheduled in Goa for March 22 stands postponed following the announcement of 'Janata Curfew', said a statement issued by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi making an announcement for 'Janata Curfew' on March 22, the Goa government went into a late night high-level meeting to decide the fate of Goa's Zilla Panchayat polls which was to be held on the same Sunday. The news of the complete one day curfew came as a surprise to the ministry and the BJP lead coalition in the state. "Respecting the appeal made by Honourable Prime Minister for "Janata Curfew" on 22/3/2020 and in the interest of wider participation of electorate in the Zilla Panchayat elections, the State Government in consultation with the State Election Commissioner has decided to postpone the Zilla Panchayat Polling date to 24/3/2020," said a statement from the CM office. With the higher offiicials huddled till midnight to look for a way out, an early reaction came from Goa's Ports Minister Michael Lobo who tweeted, "In view of #JantaCurfew announced by Hon. PM Shri @narendramodi ji #GoaZPElections to be held on 22nd March 2020 are likely to be postponed," Lobo tweeted after Modi's 'Mann ki baat'. Earlier, Opposition MLA Vijai Sardesai tweeted, "It’s a shame that the Govt ignored similar demands from me and other saner quarters & is now been forced to reluctantly toe the @PMOIndia line of #janathacurfew. #SocialDistanacing is as foreign a term to this Govt as listening to the dissenting view." Under quarantine, Mickky Pacheco targets govt Former Goa minister Mickky Pacheco has raised suspicion over being forced to self-quarantine by the government, claiming it was because of its political campaigning against the citizenship law. Pacheco has been in isolation at his residence since March 19, after landing in Goa on an Air India flight from Dubai, which stopped in Bengaluru. On March 18, Goa's Health Minister Vishwajit Rane had said few “prominent people”, including a politician, were under quarantine as the flight they were travelling on had a 67-year-old passenger who later tested positive for the coronavirus. Pacheco called the “excess use of government machinery” to forcibly quarantine him as political vendetta by the ruling coalition which was “afraid of his political campaigning on anti-CAA lines”. DySP Serafino Dias, however, denied these claims and said the “police have acted only as per order of district authorities. There was no plan to arrest anyone, but to assist the authorities".
