PANJIM: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday rubbished the allegations made by Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Luizinho Faleiro that Reserve Bank of India has pegged Goa government debt at Rs 13,900 crore with every person burdened with Rs 93,000 debt.
State BJP president Vinay Tendulkar said the state has not extended its borrowing limit and that relying on the repaying capacity the state has availed loans from banks.
Tendulkar has challenged Faleiro to hold a joint press conference with his two past chief ministers – Pratapsing Rane and Digambar Kamat – along with two BJP spokespersons on the charges.
“I challenge Luizinho Faleiro to hold a joint press conference with his two past chief ministers within a week if his figures and claims are true. We will expose them and their past several years in government in Goa and what they did with loans,” Tendulkar said.
During the Congress government at the Centre and State, the party failed to get any funds and schemes for Goa and Goans despite Faleiro being close to the Congress leadership, Tendulkar alleged.
Tendulkar said that Faleiro is trying to gain undue publicity with these claims.
BJP spokesperson Wilfred Mesquita warned Faleiro to stop misguiding the people or else he will experience a bad time in the 2017 assembly polls.
“There should be purpose, quality and substance in any meaningful criticism. For this one needs to have knowledge of facts and understanding of issues. A statement devoid of these elements is only meant to amuse the general public by its absurdity,” Mesquita said.
BJP claimed that during the last year the Centre has released Rs 8,000 crore to the State for bridges and roads, whereas during the UPA regime the State had received hardly anything.
Mesquita said that between 2005 and 2011, debt to GSDP rose from 28.4% to 37% whereas after Manohar Parrikar took charge of the State from 2012, the debt percentage to GSDP is 23% and 25.6% respectively for the years 2012-2014.
