FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said that Special Status issue does not matter for Goa as it had received special treatment from the government of India.
“During the last 10 years the central government has given more than what it could have given by granting Special Status to Goa. In my view the State has got special treatment from the Centre. After what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said I do not think anything is left. It is a special treatment from the central government to a small State like
Goa. For implementing Swayampurna Goem, which has been conceptualised on the lines of Atmanirbhar Bharat, whatever support was required, we received them from the Centre," Sawant told mediapersons.
The Chief Minister stated that this Lok Sabha election is about the nation and its priorities. Recently, stating that Goa needs a Special Status to protect its land for future generations, Congress’ South Goa Lok Sabha candidate Capt Viriato Fernandes had urged Ponda voters not to fall prey to the false propaganda of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
The BJP had in its 2012 election manifesto had promised special status to the State. The Goa Assembly also unanimously passed a resolution seeking Special Status for Goa to regulate ownership and transfer of land and to protect Goa's identity.
The State has been demanding a Special Status to preserve its culture and heritage as against the financial powers sought by other States. However, the issue had got diluted over the years.
