PANJIM: Aam Admi Party (AAP) on Tuesday criticised the government for spending crores of rupees on the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) without gaining any benefit for Goa.
Addressing the media, AAP convener Elvis Gomes along with general secretary Pradeep Padgaonkar, said that in the initial few years of IFFI, Parrikar marketed the festival knowing that the prospect of seeing glamour would sell. But, he said, time has proved otherwise with the common man getting nothing out of years of use of tax-payers’ money running into hundreds of crores to fly in and fly out Bollywood stars for partying and walking on red carpets.
AAP demanded a report on how IFFI has benefited Goa in the last 15 years. “Let there be a report on the impact of IFFI on the life of an ordinary Goan in the last 15 years,” Gomes said.
Recalling that IFFI dates were initially fixed so as to clash with the novenas and feast of St Francis Xavier, Gomes said that now people had realised that glamour of film stars cannot distract them anymore.
He accused the government of using the name of the governing council to approve huge expenditures and cautioned those in the council to be prepared to face investigations as the decisions were taken in their names without their knowledge.
