“Goa needs urgent steps to generate employment, rejuvenate tourism industry, and talk about future of state, but the PM has nothing concrete to talk about,” Rahul Gandhi said in a media interaction
ongress leader Rahul Gandhi has termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mention of India’s first PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru at an election rally in Goa as an attempt to distract the people from real issues that were facing the poll-bound state.
Taking questions from the media in Margao during his day-long campaign in Goa, where he addressed election gatherings in Curtorim and Curchorem constituencies of south Goa, Gandhi said, “The PM is attempting to distract the people of Goa by statements about Jawaharlal Nehru. He does not understand the history of the post-World War II time. Goa needs urgent steps to generate employment, rejuvenate the tourism industry, and talk about the future of the state, but the PM has nothing concrete to talk about. Modi and his government in Goa have failed in doing anything during the past five years and hence are resorting to distracting people.”
Modi had in his campaign rally at Mapusa in north Goa on Thursday claimed that Jawaharlal Nehru left Goans to die when Goa was fighting for its freedom.
“While he could have liberated Goa from Portuguese rule within hours, he did not do so for 15 years,” Modi had contended.
Rahul Gandhi pointed out that in the run-up to the 2014 general elections, Modi had promised jobs to 2 crore youth and depositing of Rs. 15 lakh in everyone’s bank accounts, but nothing of the sort happened.
“Why doesn’t he speak of giving employment, doubling farmer income, eradicating corruption, why is he quiet on Demonetisation,” Gandhi asked, adding that the answer to this is Modi’s failure to be able to offer governance.
Gandhi spoke on issues pertaining to Goa and committed that the Congress party would resist the idea of the incumbent government to turn Goa into a coal hub.
Exuding confidence that the Congress will form the government in Goa on its own without the need for a post-poll understanding with either the TMC or AAP, Gandhi said that unemployment, tourism, and mining were the burning issues before Goans and only the Congress had a credible plan to set things right.
In the last five-year, the BJP robbed Goans of the mandate they had given to the Congress. They indulged in corruption and stole the mandate. There has been no development in the last 5 years,” he said.
Gandhi assured the people of Goa that his party would restart manageable mining in a legal way as soon as it came to power.
“We have a vision for Goa. The party manifesto has proposed NYAY scheme wherein Rs. 6,000 a month will be given to the needy. There will also be a 30% reservation for women in government jobs, while Rs. 500 crore will be earmarked for employment generation which is very important for the people of Goa today,” he said.
Responding to a query on Congress candidates taking a pledge of loyalty and signing affidavits against defection being seen as a sign of his party not trusting its candidates, Gandhi said, “It is a demonstration of intent. It is an intent that shows that we have integrity and are going to work to form a government in Goa,” he said.
Gandhi said the Congress party had concrete proposals for the people of Goa, which included creating an IT and knowledge hub so that the youth from the state get connected to the rest of India and the world.
He expressed confidence that Congress’ decision of listening to the people of Goa and giving an opportunity to fresh faces as candidates would pay off. “We took a decision to keep the defectors out. That is a good decision and we are sure it will work,” he said.
Notably, following defections post the 2017 polls, the Goa Congress unit decided against readmitting any of those who had defected despite many wanting to come back.
The party, which is fighting on 37 seats of the 40 in the Goa assembly, has left 3 constituencies to its alliance partner, the Goa Forward Party.
In the last state elections, the Congress emerged as the single largest party with 17 MLAs. The BJP, despite having just 13 MLAs, manipulated the situation to form the government. It later admitted 10 Congress MLAs led by the then Leader of Opposition which took its strength to 27 MLAs.
