PANJIM: With four days left for elections, the BJP-led coalition dished out another deadline for resumption of mining, this time asking for six months.
Speaking on the sidelines of a joint press conference with its ally Goa Forward Party (GFP) and Independents, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the people understand him as he too hails from a mining belt. “I am from the mining area and I know the people. People from the mining belt know me. They have confidence in me. I will resolve the issue within six months,” he said replying to a question on whether the BJP was finding it difficult to convince the mining dependents about its ability to restart mining.
While BJP in Goa has not released its manifesto for the LS elections, the central as well as State leaders have kept the mining issue as top priority, assuring the people that its government will solve the crisis at the earliest.
However, the party’s manifesto ‘sankal patra,’ launched by PM Narendra Modi, BJP national President Amit Shah and other senior leaders, released as many as 75 resolutions defining BJP’s vision for India but it had no mention of resolving the ongoing mining issue in the State. Nevertheless, in is public meeting held in Goa recently, PM Modi assured Goans that the Centre in consultation with the State will act to remove all obstacles for resumption of mining activities. Further, the central leaders, who have been campaigning for its candidates in the State, have also assured to find a solution to the current crisis.
