“If any minister says that tourists come because of drugs, we will throw cow dung on his face to purify him,” State Congress President Luizinho Faleiro said, referring to the controversial statement made by Chief Minister Lamxikant Parsekar who had said that most tourists visit Goa to consume drugs.
Faleiro appealed to the government not to entertain such tourists. “We should tell tourists ‘don’t come to Goa for drugs’. They can come to enjoy their vacation. We will provide them all the support. Goa is not about drugs,” he said.
Faleiro lamented that the scourge and menace of drugs is hitting the very root of Goa and Goans, affecting the state’s future. “Drugs are not only available in the coastal belt, but they have percolated to the hinterland,” he said pointing out to the incident wherein two youths had died at Curtorim after consuming narcotics during a birthday party, last month.
“Nigerians and Kashmiris have become drug lords in Goa and they are being supervised by the government,” Faleiro alleged.
In a bid to make Goa a drug-free state, the Congress has decided to launch a massive awareness campaign across all 40 constituencies, and has appealed to the people, irrespective of party affiliation, to join the campaign.
