‘Golden Goa’ or Cong’s vacation spot: Amit Shah tells Goa to choose

At his three public addresses in Ponda, Sanvordem and Vasco, the themes were recurrent. Shah trained guns on the Congress’s “parivar first” approach, said parties like the Trinamool Congress (TMC) or the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had no plan for Goa’s development, and, at every address, paid tribute to late defence minister and former Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Goa on Sunday. (Pic courtesy: Goa BJP)

Attacking the Congress, Shah said Goa’s annual budget under the previous Manmohan Singh-led government at the Centre in 2013-14 was Rs 432 crore. “It was the Sonia-Manmohan government and the TMC was supporting it,” Shah said, adding Prime Minister Narendra Modi had allocated Rs 2,567 crore for the state in 2021.

Shah said that major infrastructure projects like the Atal Setu, the Zuari Bridge and the Mopa International Airport were possible in Goa only because of the “double engine” BJP government at the Centre and in the state.

He said while the former Congress government in the state led by then Chief Minister Digambar Kamat had nothing to show for infrastructure development, his party was going into polls under his leadership. “They have not announced it but he is going everywhere and saying it,” said Shah. “Can Digambar Kamat do this (development)? Rahul Baba won’t allow it. He will fear that Modiji will be popular, let it be. He does not care about Goa’s development. He has developed Modiphobia…Achcha hi hai Rahul Baba, aap Modi, Modi hi karte rahiye (It’s good. Rahul, keep chanting Modi… Modi). Look at his tweets. You won’t see one positive tweet. Such people cannot give development to Goa.”

He asked the audience if they can imagine a Congress that is not led by the Gandhi family. “I was leading the party, but when I was given responsibility in the government, I handed it over very easily and ( J P) Naddaji is leading us today. There is no legacy here. The only legacy is that of devotion to Bharat Mata,” Shah said.

With the TMC, the NCP and the AAP also in crosshairs, Shah said he had, upon his arrival in Goa, seen hoardings of parties that had descended on the state ahead of the February 14 polls. “I don’t know why all the parties from the country have descended on tiny Goa? I want to tell Goa’s voters that there can be development only when there is stability….Can these small parties, parties from other states, give Goa development? Do they understand your problems? Do they have solutions to these? ” Shah said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the Shri Sai Baba Mandir in Borim. (Pic courtesy: Goa BJP)

“No party has come here to give a stable government. Someone wants to be an all-India political party, somebody wants to open their account…they can’t form a government. Only the BJP can form the government and that is why we need your blessings.”

In Sanvordem in South Goa, along with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Shah walked from one house to another, distributing leaflets to voters and urging them to vote for the lotus symbol. “Kamal ko vote dena,” he told the families.

“Can someone come from Delhi and Kolkata and develop Goa? Can the AAP give stability? At the most they may get one MLA or God knows what. Can the TMC do it? They are all unstable? The BJP only says what it can do. We don’t make false promises,” the Home Minister told another gathering.

“Look at their whole manifesto? Making a road? No. Will they get a new airport? No. Expansion of the Shipyard? No. Enhancing the cellphone tower network? No. Industries? No. Promises and only promises. You know who I am talking about, don’t you? They are making tall promises because they know there is going to be no government here and they don’t have to fulfil any of these promises,” he said. “Why don’t they just promise that they will make all the rooftops in Goa with gold. Can anyone do that? But they can say that because they know that even one MLA won’t be elected,” said Shah.

During his tour, Shah also visited the Shri Sai Baba temple in Borim.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah campaigned door to door in Sanvordem assembly constituency for BJP candidate Ganesh Gaonkar. Pic courtesy: Goa BJP.

At all his public meetings, Shah also remembered the late defence minister and former Goa CM Manohar Parrikar and said, “He was such a leader who had given Goa a name not only in the country but all over the world. Parrikarji laid the foundation of development here, where Dr Pramod Sawant is now constructing a strong building.”

Shah also said Sawant was trying to live up to Parrikar’s dream of creating a “Golden Goa”.

Shah’s reminisced about the late Goa CM at three of his public addresses in Goa. This comes at a time when Parrikar’s son Utpal Parrikar has parted ways with the BJP to contest the upcoming poll as an independent candidate from Panaji. Many BJP MLAs, including former minister Micheal Lobo, Alina Saldanha, Carlos Almeida and Pravin Zantye, have quit ahead of the polls and switched parties, saying the BJP in Goa no longer felt like the party Parrikar had built.

Shah said that mining would restart in Goa within six months of the BJP coming to power. Mining that was an important source of livelihood in Goa came to a standstill after a Supreme Court order of 2018. Mining activity in the state, however, virtually stopped in 2012 since the issue of illegal mining was under litigation.

Shah said, “I have been reading the statements of the opposition closely. Paap toh unke samay mein karat ha magar sawal hamare samay mein aake khada hua – Goa ke mining ka sawal (The sin was committed in their time but the question came up during our time. The question of Goa’s mining). For two-and-a-half years, Pramodji has been sitting with various ministers in Delhi, many times in my office too there was a meeting with the mining minister. We have found a good solution. Government of India has declared a dumping policy which Goa has accepted. Mining Corporation has also been set up. Once the BJP’s full majority, double engine government is formed, within six months, we will restart mining activity by holding transparent auctions. This will be part of our manifesto.”

Listing the various achievements of the Modi-led government at the Centre, Shah said that by doing away with Article 370, the Modi government had fully integrated Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India. He said the country voted Modi once again and “chutki baja ke (with a snap)” Article 370 came to an end.

He said under the erstwhile Manmohan Singh government at the Centre, “Any aalia, maalia, jamaalia would come from Pakistan and behead our soldiers” and not a brow would be furrowed in Delhi. This, he said, had changed after Prime Minister Modi took over the reins and the government had put a check on cross-border violence.